ACC Basketball Weekly Review

Scores

Monday, January 2

Virginia 57, LSU 52

Rhode Island 78, Boston College 72 (2OT)

Wofford 56, Wake Forest 52

Miami 99, UNC-Greensboro 89

Tuesday, January 3

Maryland 70, Cornell 62

Alabama 73, Georgia Tech 48

Wednesday, January 4

Temple 78, Duke 73

Florida State 85, Auburn 56

North Carolina State 78, Delaware State 44

Saturday, January 7

Duke 81, Georgia Tech 74

North Carolina 83, Boston College 60

Virginia 52, Miami 51

Wake Forest 58, Virginia Tech 55

Clemson 79, Florida State 59

Sunday, January 8

North Carolina State 79, Maryland 74

If the Atlantic Coast Conference wanted to prop up its overall portfolio, which - at this point in the season - is all about the quest to get at least four teams into the NCAA Tournament - it seems increasingly clear that only one team is in good position to pick up that baton. For the most part, the ACC is continuing to lose ground, furthering speculation that this will be just a three-team league when Selection Sunday runs its course and the brackets are announced for the field of 68.

Two teams that figured to be very much in the mix for the ACC when this season started were Florida State and Virginia Tech. The two teams played a very controversial ACC Tournament game last season when Virginia Tech won, thanks to the fact that FSU's Derwin Kitchen barely failed to beat the buzzer with a game-ending heave that went in. Replays showed that the ball was still on Kitchen's fingertips when the red light behind the backboard went on. However, that wasn't the only controversy of the night in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. A few moments earlier, Virginia Tech - down by one - traveled on its final possession, but the officials missed the call, leading to the Hokies' go-ahead bucket. Tech and Florida State both figured to conduct a similarly contentious dogfight for a tourney bid this season (FSU got in last year as a 10 seed, while Tech barely missed out), but so far, they're both competing to see which team can be more mediocre and disappointing.

Virginia Tech's NCAA chase isn't quite over, but the Hokies seem intent on going to the NIT. That's what happens when you lose at Wake Forest, the doormat in this league alongside lowly Georgia Tech. The Hokies - like any other NCAA Tournament aspirant - need to win the road games in which they're favored; that's simply a bottom-line starting point for any program that wants to move off the bubble in the right direction. Well, dropping a three-point decision to Wake, thanks to a terrible offensive performance, will not get the job done for coach Seth Greenberg's squad. Virginia Tech has to be able to collect scalps in all of its supremely winnable games; the proliferation of bad losses will overwhelm the occasional quality win if there's any room left for debate on Selection Sunday. Virginia Tech learned this last season when its win over Duke wasn't enough to get a tourney ticket; too many bad losses worked against the Hokies.

Florida State is also failing to make the grade. The Seminoles played horribly in a 20-point loss at Clemson. Coach Leonard Hamilton's FSU crew is limited at the offensive end of the floor, but when the Seminoles can't defend, they have nothing to cling to. A drastic turnaround is needed in short order if this team is going to get where it wants to go.

The only team with improving hopes for that fourth NCAA Tournament bid (behind Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia) in the ACC is North Carolina State. The Wolfpack won two games this past week, easing past Maryland on Sunday to avoid an ugly blot on their resume. Coach Mark Gottfried is slowly raising hopes that this year in Raleigh can bring back a sense that the NCSU program is for real. However, there's a long way to go before the Pack can be considered a likely tournament team.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer