ACC Overrated?

Now, before you all start cussing, this from the Raleigh News & Observer by a long time sports writer Caulton Tudor.... Not trying to hate, just putting it out there.

ACC proves to be overrated


ACC proves to be overrated
ACC basketball - Four underachievers

By CAULTON TUDOR, Staff Writer

The most enlightening moments of the ACC basketball season may have occurred Nov. 22.
Florida State, playing at home that day, lost to Texas A&M- Corpus Christi, and Georgia Tech, which got to the 2004 NCAA final, survived a game at Illinois-Chicago by one point.

The conference will wrap up its regular season this weekend, but it long ago became obvious that the ACC is a lot weaker than anyone could have imagined when the season's first Associated Press poll ranked Wake Forest No. 2, Georgia Tech No. 3, North Carolina No. 4, Duke No. 11, Maryland No. 15 and N.C. State No. 19.

Only three of those teams -- Carolina, Wake and Duke -- have locked up NCAA bids. Maryland and Georgia Tech are on the bubble, and N.C. State on the ropes.

Here's how ACC teams have fared this season against non-conference opponents:

Atlantic 10: 8-3

Big East: 3-6

Big Ten: 8-2

Big 12: 2-2

C-USA: 3-2

Mid-American: 1-2

Pac-10: 3-1

SEC: 9-2

West Coast: 1-2

non-ACC ranked teams: 9-6

(AP, N&O RESEARCH)

Virginia, after mauling Arizona in its second game and rising to No. 19 in early December, has tumbled so far so fast that coach Pete Gillen probably will be fired.

What went wrong?

The decline can be only partly blamed on injuries and illnesses. Although almost every team in the league has lost at least one key player for a game or more, Big East teams have suffered their share of injuries and mishaps, too.

The Big East is 6-3 against the ACC this season -- and the better league from top to bottom, in my view, despite a lower RPI rating.

The truth is that the ACC was overrated from the start. The lofty expectations stemmed from Duke and Georgia Tech reaching the Final Four last year, plus Maryland, N.C. State, Florida State, Virginia, North Carolina and Wake Forest getting most of their starters back.

For proof that the conference was overrated, look no further than the success of expansion teams Miami and Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes went 4-12 in the Big East last season, and that was with leading scorer Darius Rice, a senior.

In their first ACC season, the Canes will finish no worse than 7-9.

Virginia Tech went 7-9 in the Big East last season but lost Bryant Matthews, who averaged 22.1 points. With one game left, the Hokies are 7-8 in the ACC, and have beaten Duke and won at Georgia Tech.

Injuries and illnesses aside, the ACC's most disappointing teams have been undermined by recurring flaws.

GEORGIA TECH: More than from B.J. Elder's injury, the Yellow Jackets have suffered from a lack of offensive improvement by Luke Schenscher, Isma'il Muhammad and Anthony McHenry. Those three seniors must have spent the summer at the driving range. They've provided no evidence they did a lot of work in the gym.

N.C. STATE: Not all of the Wolfpack's problems can be blamed on Tony Bethel's sickness. The rest of the players showed up with their "C" games against St. John's, West Virginia, Virginia and Florida State. That goes to a lack of preparation and motivation.

Had the Pack won those four games -- three of which were played in Raleigh -- it would be 20-7 overall and 8-6 in the league.

MARYLAND: Losing D.J. Strawberry hurt, but losing twice to Clemson hurt a lot more. What ever happened to the John Gilchrist who sliced through Wake, NCSU and Duke in last season's league tournament?

VIRGINIA: Elton Brown probably will wind up as the league's third-best rebounder, and he was the team's best player when injuries sidelined fellow senior Devin Smith. But since Smith's return, Brown has all but gone into an offensive shell.

Where does that leave the ACC in the race for NCAA Tournament bids? Minor adjustments in the Rating Percentage Index could make it more difficult for middle-tier teams in major conferences to get at-large bids. And any ACC team with fewer than eight regular-season conference wins doesn't have much of an argument.

Even an 8-8 mark might not be good enough for Virginia Tech, with non-conference losses to Virginia Military Institute, St. John's and Western Michigan, or NCSU, with those losses to St. John's and West Virginia.

On reputation alone, the ACC probably will receive five bids, maybe six. But once you get past the big three, it's all subjective. If the other eight just keep sloshing along, it's hard to argue that any of them really belongs in the national tournament.

 

After living in Raleigh for almost 3 yrs, I can say that CAULTON TUDOR is a fucking piece of shit. He's a joke.

 

This article is from an author from a city who's home team was expected to be top 25 this year, and quite possibly won't make the NIT tournament. Who's coach whined there should be more teams in the NCAA tourny... primarily because his team ain't going.

 

ACC is going to take 2 of the #1 seeds, and one of the #2 seeds. meaning they have 3 of the top 8 programs in the entire country.

overrated? seriously, what would the acc have to do to meet expectations? have all 4 of the #1 seeds?

 

Carlton Tudor can suck my ass. My 4 years at NC State were dampened by his sorry ass writing for the local paper. He's the Ed Hardin of the News & Observer

 

Seems like the ACC will have to have a "ACC/Big Ten Challenge" deal with every major conference before they realize how tough the ACC is. We've beaten the Big Ten in every challenge so far and I'd go all in on the fact that the ACC could do the exact same to every other conference in the nation as well.

 

Damn, ya'll sound like us complaining about the Charlotte Observer. Cool to see others don't like their papers too! I've never argued the ACC isn't a tough conference. I do think the Big East is deeper with more good teams but the ACC is definitely the best at the top with UNC, Wake, and Duke. Hell, you're looking at two possible #1 seeds.

 

He took Carolina, Wake, and Dook out of his equation.

 

(Regular Season)
.............vs. Other Majors ......vs. Non-Majors
Big12 ........17-15 .531 ............95-15 .8636
SEC ...........19-18 .514 ...........89-14 .8641
ACC ..........22-16 .579 ............58-8 .879
BigEast .......20-18 .526 ...........95-30 .760
Big10 ..........14-23 .378............. 75-16 .824
Pac 10 .........8-10 .444 ...............59-20 .747