2010 ACC Tournament

ACC TOURNAMENT – FINALS

#7 Georgia Tech vs. #1 Duke
I’m glad that the Dookies will have to play someone; although I guess they weren’t a strong enough team to get rid of Miami easily. I half-joked that the Canes would probably stay in it for 20 minutes. I actually shorted The U by about 20 minutes. Make no mistake about it, Miami could have won that game.

Georgia Tech looks like they are finally serious about getting the ball inside. They did it in the 2nd half against UNC, the entire game against Maryland and most of the game against NC State. If they continue to do so, they can not only win this game, but get to at least the second weekend of the real tournament. I said it in November, and I’ve been saying it all winter: very few teams have a frontcourt as talented as Favors-Lawal-Peacock. Not just in the ACC, but on a national level. Paul Hewitt and the awful backcourt just have to get out of their own way. Let the forwards carry this team.

Making this quick since I want to do a final bracket projection (first time in a long time that I’ve had a Sunday off…and it just happens to be Selection Sunday). Most of my time today will be spent doing that. These two teams split the regular season series, and like the Hurricanes, the Jackets are the type of team that can give Dook fits. However, in order for Tech to come out top, they’re going to have to hit some of their outside shots. I don’t think they have the legs to do it. It will be an ugly, grinding game that’s not for the basketball purist.
Pick: Duke 66, Georgia Tech 61


ACC TOURNAMENT – SEMIFINALS
Originally posted at 12:57 pm on 3/13/10

#12 Miami vs. #1 Duke
Well…Duke’s road to the championship will pretty much be the easiest in recent memory. Only a game against NC State in the finals would make it easier for them. The officials helped them yesterday, giving the Dookies timeouts when they didn’t have possession, letting Jerome Meyinsse get hacked all day and calling fouls whenever Virginia had a chance to go in transition.

Miami is the kind of team that can give the Devils fits. They have no problems playing slow, grinding, low-scoring games. They led by 12 at halftime the last time the two played. I think they’ll keep it close for at least another 20 minutes today.
Pick: Duke 67, Miami 58

#11 NC State vs. #7 Georgia Tech
Some thoughts from yesterday’s game. Maryland clearly didn’t want to be on the court for the first half. As I continue to say, this tournament means nothing to teams from outside Carolina or teams that have nothing to play for. Maryland is solidly in the tournament (while Georgia Tech still had some doubts) and obviously the Terps don’t reside in NC. Therefore, this game and this tournament carried no weight. Maryland played about as poorly as they could in the first half (29% from the field, missed all their 3’s and were out-rebounded by nine), played an average second half and almost won the game anyway. Greivis Vasquez had a real off night. Jordan Williams was in foul trouble all evening. Sean Mosley didn’t score at all. The bench didn’t help at all. The matchup inside clearly favored Tech. So a lot of things went wrong, and despite all of it, Maryland had several chances to win the game. Two important things happened. Landon Milbourne finally showed up. He had a terrific game. Secondly, Maryland made it through with no injuries. I was upset for about ten minutes and then moved on. Not a big deal. Probably means a six seed instead of a four/five (which could be a blessing in disguise). The real tournament starts next week. Let’s get ready for it.

As for this game, you know the ACC is dreaming of a NC State-Duke All-Carolina final. The Wolfpack will get calls that they normally don’t. If the Jackets use the same game plan they did against Maryland (pound it inside), they’ll win. If they get cute, and let the refs decide this game, they’ll lose.
Pick: Georgia Tech 70, NC State 63


ACC TOURNAMENT - QUARTERFINALS
Originally posted at 12:17 pm on 3/12/10



(#7) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (20-11, 7-9 ACC) vs.
#19/19 (#2) Maryland Terrapins (23-7, 13-3 ACC)
Greensboro Coliseum – Greensboro, NC
ACC Tournament – Quarterfinals

So how did everyone enjoy the Virginia game? Smelled like a trap game the whole way. I knew Maryland was in trouble when they couldn’t go up by more than 12 or so in the first half. Sure enough, the Terps fell asleep in the second half and the Cavaliers almost rallied. However, Maryland wins their fair share of the real ACC championship thanks to Tony Bennett’s perfectly timed jacket throwing and clutch free throws. Bennett, by the way, has proven that he can’t handle coaching in this conference. This all defense, no offense approach may work in the Big Ten or Pac-10…but not here. I understand he needed to suspend Sylven Landesberg. I know UVA takes their academics ultra-seriously. But does Bennett really want us to believe that he just found out about Landesberg’s troubles? Midway through the year’s second semester? Only after the Cavaliers went on a nine-game losing streak to eliminate any chance they had of playing in the postseason? I don’t buy it. Bennett knew about this well before he suspended Landesberg. So add classless to incompetent for Mr. Bennett. I’m willing to put cash money on the fact that when this webpage celebrates its 10-year anniversary, Bennett will be serenading in a different conference.

So while the game wasn’t the prettiest thing to watch, the week following it was enjoyable. Greivis Vasquez was named ACC Player of the Year and Gary Williams was named ACC Coach of the Year. Both were well deserved. Coach of the Year isn’t really the big deal it’s made out to be. It’s basically given to the coach who exceeds expectations, not necessarily the best coach (which is why Seth Greensberg has already won it twice). However, this season was the exception. There’s no reasonable doubt in anyone minds that Gary did the best coaching job in the conference. He was deserving of the award last year as well, even if the Terps record didn’t look as good as it does now.

Vasquez winning POY is a big deal. Rarely does a Maryland player, or a player outside the Research Triangle win this award. Add in the fact that the only foreign-born player to win it (or even come close to winning it) was Tim Duncan…and he was from the U.S. Virgin Islands. So the combination of foreigner playing outside the state of North Carolina meant Vasquez had a real uphill road to climb. Not only did he win, he won handedly. He scored 39 of the 53 votes. The Screamer locked down the electoral votes from North Carolina (12) and two writers got drunk and voted for Malcolm Delaney on a dare. If Vasquez was an African-American from Richmond, he probably would have come awful close to a unanimous decision. I don’t think a reasonable fan can argue his stats (he’s the only player in the COUNTRY averaging 18 points and six assists a game) or his importance to Maryland. The only thing the Screamer leads in is flopping on three-point attempts. The whining and moaning from Durham has been unbelievable. They think it’s some vast conspiracy by the Tar Heel bloc of the media vote to deny a Dook player the award since there was no UNC player worth voting for. I highly doubt it. Vasquez had more obstacles to overcome to win this award. He is unquestionably the best player in the conference this year. It’s not even worth discussing the continuing debate. His numbers speak for themselves.

I was a little disappointed that Sean Mosley didn’t make the ACC defensive team. He’s a terrific on and off ball defender, and the only player to give him trouble all season was Delaney. He shut down Dook’s White Stiff. He shut down Demontez Stitt. He (and Cliff Tucker) stopped Landesberg in the first meeting. He could have easily made the team over either L.D. Williams or Lance Thomas, who is never on the court due to foul trouble. I also would have liked to see Eric Hayes on the 3rd-team All-ACC. Joe Trapani didn’t really do a whole lot to earn that honor. It would have also been nice to see Jordan Williams be a little closer to Derrick Favors for Rookie of the Year. We all knew Favors was going to win. But Williams progressed nicely throughout the season and played as well, if not better, than Favors did during the ACC schedule. However, it can be argued that Favors had to overcome playing for Paul Hewitt while Williams benefited from playing for Gary (and it seems as if Georgia Tech is starting to understand their problems). Regardless, it will be real nice to have JW for the next three seasons while Favors is in the NBA.

Speaking of Favors, here comes Georgia Tech. I was hoping that Maryland wouldn’t have to play these guys again after the miracle win in College Park. The Jackets spent all season not getting the ball inside to their strength, then spent all afternoon at Comcast Center doing just that, followed by several more games of ignoring their post players. In other words, Tech woke up in time to play Maryland, then went back to sleep. Last night’s game against UNC was another example of it. The Yellow Jackets spent about 35 minutes jacking up mid-range to long-range shots. The other five minutes were spent getting the ball to Favors and Gani Lawal. Needless to say, those were the five minutes that Tech used to pull ahead of the Tar Heels for good. The two big men shot a combined 12-16 from the floor, had 30 points and 13 rebounds. The rest of the team shot 12-40 and scored 32 points. Again, it makes you wonder where Tech would be if their coach made them get the ball inside all season long.

Maryland is the only team that is facing the highest possible seed today. The Terps essentially were punished for finishing tied for 1st. Had they finished 3rd, they would have played lousy NC State. A 4th place finish would have let Maryland play Miami. Instead, they have to play Tech and are the only one of the top four seeds to play another NCAA Tournament team in the first round. I know re-seeding is out of the question (it wouldn’t be fair if NC State played at 9:30 one night then had to turn around and play at noon the next day), but there needs to be some sort of protection for the top seeds. Maybe the tournament should re-seed the top half and the bottom half of the brackets. So Maryland would play NC State, Tech would play FSU in the bottom half. In the top half, Duke would play Miami and Virginia Tech would play Virginia. That makes a lot more sense than Maryland getting hosed by finishing tied for first, but having the bad luck of facing the only better seed that managed not to lose in the first round.

As for the tournament, here’s what I want. First, no injuries. Second, make sure Landon Milbourne gets back into some sort of rhythm. If it’s at the expense of the team, then so be it. Third, keep Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker confident. Again, even if it hurts the team in the ACC Tournament, it will be worth it come next week. Fourth, no injuries. Fifth, maybe grab one win if it’s not too much trouble. Finally, no injuries. The ACC Tournament is not important to Maryland. We’ve got our share of the real ACC Championship. The Terps are obviously locks for the NCAA Tournament. If they win the whole thing, great! If they don’t, but stay healthy, also great! Tech has a little more to play for than Maryland, but the Terps are fully rested. So I guess I’ll pick the Terps here. It should be interesting to see if (or how much) Maryland’s interior defense has improved any since mid-February.

Maryland 74
Georgia Tech 68


Elsewhere in the ACC Tournament…

#9 Virginia vs. #1 Duke
Wow…with Boston College and Wake losing in the first round, the Dookies have their path to the final game paved and clear. The only thing that would make this easier for them would be to play NC State…actually, that didn’t go so well last time.
Pick: Duke 73, Virginia 55

#12 Miami vs. #4 Virginia Tech
So it looks as if Tech and Seth Greenberg are locks for the NCAA Tournament. That’s a real shame. I always look forward to Greenberg’s bitching, begging and whining at the committee this time of year.
Pick: Virginia Tech 68, Miami 57

#11 NC State vs. #3 Florida State
In the COY voting, Gary Williams locked down 42 votes. Ratface earned eight. Greenberg even managed to grab two votes. Not sure why, since I’m pretty sure that Virginia Tech faced a couple of high school teams during their non-conference schedule. But 10 ACC wins is 10 ACC wins. Meanwhile, Leonard Hamilton somehow grabbed a vote. The voting needs to be made public and the writer who gave Hamilton a vote should be banned from ever voting for any ACC awards ever again. The only thing worse would have been voting for Sidney Lowe.

NC State has a history of overachieving in this tournament. A few years back they made the final as a double-digit seed. In the 90’s, they twice won the old “play-in game” and managed to make it to Sunday. They have several factors going for them. The first is desperation. This is their season. They have nothing else to play for. Second is the crowd. Other than UNC, State typically has more fans in Greensboro than anyone else. Finally, unlike Maryland (and in this case FSU), the ACC Tournament means something to the Wolfpack…just like it means something to the other three Carolina schools. That said, I can’t see any scenario where I’ll pick the Pack over the next couple of days.
Pick: Florida State 71, NC State 63


ACC TOURNAMENT - 1ST ROUND
Originally posted at 11:06 a.m. on 3/10/10

This is the first time in my five years updating this page that Maryland earned a 1st round bye in the ACC Tournament. That makes this first set of games pretty easy for me. I finished the ACC season with a 47-19 record. Considering the state of the conference, I'm proud of that record. I'm not proud of the fact that I missed predicting several games...mostly due to apathy. Anyway, I will continually update the same post as the ACC Tournament continues. Come back on Friday for the next round.

#9 Virginia vs. #8 Boston College
No team in the entire nation has slept walked through the last month more than Virginia. We all knew the end was coming when the Hoos sprinted off to a 3-0 conference start, and were a very respectable 5-3 in the conference at the midway point. We all knew that they’d be lucky to win two conference games the rest of the way. But to finish at 0-8? To suspend the best player on the team and essentially kick him off the team for good? To lose Calvin Baker as well? I don’t think that anyone saw that coming. Even me.

Boston College has at least been competitive in the majority of their games. Al Skinner had a major talent drain this season. Even though I predicted at the beginning of the season that BC was headed for an 8th place finish, I half expected Skinner to pull the Eagles into the top half of the ACC. Boston College should be more competitive next season. They only lose Tyler Roche, who isn’t that important anyway. This was a good learning season for the Eagles.
Pick: Boston College 72, Virginia 56

#12 Miami vs. #5 Wake Forest
Does anyone trust the Deacons past the first round? Does anyone trust the Deacons in the first round? I’m not sure. I do know that Dino Gaudio is in serious trouble down in Winston-Salem. His grace and honeymoon period ended last year when Wake Forest tanked at the end of their promising season by losing to Maryland in their first ACC Tournament game and losing to Cleveland State in their first NCAA Tournament game. So this was the wrong season for Gaudio to pull the same kind of stunt. Odds are the Deacons will win here, slip into the NCAA’s somewhere between a 9-11 seed, and lose in the first round. Then again, would it shock me if they beat Virginia Tech on Friday, or lose to Miami in this game? Absolutely not. This team has been more maddening to predict than Georgia Tech.
Pick: Wake Forest 67, Miami 62

#10 North Carolina vs. #7 Georgia Tech
That noise you’ve been hearing since Monday is the Carolina media barking up a storm. UNC is the favorite “darkhorse” of the ACC Tournament. “They always play well in this thing.” “They’ll have a lot of fan support.” “They have underachieved, but they are talented.” Blah, blah, blah. There is no way the Heels win more than one game in this tournament, and they’ll only win one game if Paul Hewitt is in a charitable mood (which, if you’ve been following the Jackets, you know is not entirely out of the question). I’m not sure what anyone saw in UNC this season that could make a reasonable fan think this team is capable of winning four games in four days.
Pick: Georgia Tech 77, North Carolina 64

#11 NC State vs. #6 Clemson
If you are looking for a real darkhorse, Clemson might be the candidate. They get a pushover NC State team in the first round. This is a team they should beat handedly and most of the Tigers starters should get a decent amount of rest. Then they’ll play FSU, a team that Clemson has had success against in recent years. Then they’ll get Maryland (or Georgia Tech if the Terps are completely uninterested…which is a strong possibility). If you’ve paid attention to this page, you know Clemson matches up well with the Terps. Anyway, this is a Clemson team that could wreak havoc on the bottom half of the bracket.

As for NC State, could this be the end for Sidney Lowe? So soon? That’s a shame. We hardly got a chance to know each other. Well, if that’s the case…everyone raise your glasses in a toast: Here’s to our man Sidney, otherwise known as SLowe, the only coach that could make Herb Sendek look like John Wooden.
Pick: Clemson 81, NC State 63