ACC Party

So, right now as things stand, there are10 teams guaranteed to be in the tournament be in the tourney by nature of autobids- Penn, Winthrop, Oral Roberts, Eastern Kentucky, Davidson, Creighton, Virginia Commonwealth, North Texas, Wright State, Belmont, Gonzaga, and Niagra. Tonight two more bids will be handed out, with the NEC Championship game between Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut State, and the Big Sky Final between Northern Arizona and Weber State. Almost all of the conference winners so far have been one or two seeds, which means good news for the bubble teams who are praying for every available spot to be open, as well as less competition from some of the best mid majors. Over the next few days all of the mid major conference tournaments are wrapping up, and today marks the beginning of the start of the Big Show, the Big Six tournaments. The Big East got under way today at MSG, with Villanova knocking out Depaul. Right now Syracuse and Connecticut are under way, with UConn looking to pull an upset with a 31-25 lead with 5 to go in the first half. The two other first round games get under way today, and tomorrow, all the action truly begins. With the Big Ten, ACC, Big East, and Pac-10 all getting under way from 12:00 to 3:00, each conference with four games tomorrow. We'll be running previews of a few of the tournaments today and tomorrw, starting with the ACC belowe

ACC- The favorite has to be UNC, even with Hansborough having to wear that mask after taking that hit to the face from Gerald Henderson. They came out on top after the regular season, in a down to the wire stretch with BC, Virginia Tech, and Virginia. The most noticeable thing about this team is their ability to play different styles of basketball, something they have in common with the rest of the league. They can work the ball down low to Hansborough, and have Wright and Lawson continually attack the basket. They can run the floor and use up three seconds of the shot clock before scoring. They have the ability to shoot the three extremely well. However, their one problem, as it has been noted frequently this season, is that they have almost too much depth. Most teams would love to have "too much depth" as their main weakness, but for this team, it has actually caused problems in terms of Coach Williams getting the players PT, and it has prevented the players from meshing together too well, as they are always playing with different guys. While UNC has the ability to beat anyone in the league, the right team on the right night can be a total mismatch for them and blow them out of the water.

Contenders- The two teams everyone is looking to right now in the ACC as teams that can make noise next week area Georgia Tech and Maryland. GT just came off of wins over Boston College and UNC, while Maryland has won a league best seven games in a row heading into the tournament, Both teams have first round games that they are expected to win(Miami for the Terps, Wake for Tech) and could continue their hot streak and roll right on through the tournament on their way to an automatic bid and a likely 5 or 4 seed. However, there are many other teams in the mix. Both Clemson and Florida State are playing for their tournament lives, as it will likely take a semifinal or beyond trip to propel them into the field of sixty five. Clemson, a lock after a 17-0 start, is facing its last chance to avoid one of the larger collapses by a certain tourney team in recent memory. Florida State lost their star point guard Toney Douglas to injury and went 1-5 without him, and indured some tough losses this season(by one to BC at home, on a buzzer beater three by Sean Marshall at BC). However, with All ACC player Al Thorton down low, the Seminoles have a chance in every game. Thorton, the ACC's leading scorer, exploded for 45 points against Miami in OT last weekend, keeping their season alive. Ironically, Clemson and FSU meet in the first round, with the winner getting a chance to salvage their season, while the loser is NIT bound.

The other three contenders for this years ACC crown are Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Boston College (the 2, 3, and 4 seeds respectively). Virginia, one of the suprises in the ACC this season, put together a remarkable season in which many considered they would have a down year. With wins over Duke, Clemson, Maryland, and Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers put together an impressive 11-5 record, led by a duo of star guards Sean Singeltary, 1st team All ACC, 18.8 ppg, and Jr,Reynolds, Second team all ACC, 18.0 ppg. With these two playing, Virginia has a chance to win against any one, as either of them can go big on any given night.

Virginia Tech, led by All ACC player Zabian Dowdell, streaked to third place in the ACC this season, with major support coming from the trio of Deron Washington, Jamon Gordon, and A.D Vassallo, each of who averaged at least 11 points a game this season, with Washington putting up 5.6 boards a game and Gordon leading the team with 4.6 apg. VT cooled off a bit after their hot 15-5 start, which included UNC, Duke, and Maryland, by going 5-5 in their last ten, which included a sweep by a bottom of the pack NC State. The Hokies have proven they can beat any team in the conference, but have to make sure they bring it everynight, as why they start to coasat through games, they lose some of that swagger they had running so nicely in the early goings. A first game exit for this team could be particurlarly dangerous, as every loss brings a loss of more and more confidence.

Finally, this brings me to the team that I'm pickin to win this whole thing (and not just because I live 15 minutes from campus either!)- the Boston College Eagles. The Eagles, you might remember, lost their dominant big man and the nations leading shot blocker, Sean Williams, midway through the season. However, with the inspired play of Naismith candidate Jared Dudley and the electric style of Tyrese Rice, the Eagles have been able to keep playing effectively and stay in the hunt for a deep tourney run. While they enter their quarterfinal matchup against the highest remaining team on a 1-4 freefall, I believe that Dudley, Rice, and Marshall, who accounted for all but 4 points in their Tourney clinching win at Clemson, will carry this team to the ACC Championshion and Beyond,

Picks
1st Round
Maryland over Miami
Florida State over Clemson
Duke over N.C. State.
Georgia Tech over Wake Forest

QuarterFinals
Boston College over Maryland
North Carolina over Florida State
Duke over Virginia
Georgia Tech over Virginia Tech

Semi Finals
Boston College over North Carolina
Duke over Georgia TEch

Final
Boston College 72, Duke 66