OTB’s ACC Tournament Picks–Day One
We'll be in Greensboro live-tweeting on Friday!
We’re breaking down the games and picking them so you know what to prepare for the next day–here’s who faces the top seeds on Quarterfinal Friday(did I mention yet that I’ll be there!!?!).
8) Boston College Eagles vs 9) Virginia Cavaliers, Thursday at 12:00(EST)
Key Matchup: BC Young Guards vs. UVA Young Guards–Which team’s guards will flounder under the pressure? They are talented, but which guard output shows up will take the day–I think the ‘Hoos take advantage.
Who Wins and Why: The Eagles and ‘Hoos are walking wounded with suspensions to boot–Virginia showed more promise against Maryland than BC at NC State–it’s a coin flip really, but we’ll go against recent history and take the ‘Hoos.
5) Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. 12) Miami Hurricanes, Thursday at 2ish(EST)
Key Matchup: Wake Guard Ish Smith vs. All Miami Guards–Every Miami guard brings his own skill to the table, but none of them do it consistently. Ish Smith plays well and he out-classes the rest for a easy win over Miami.
Who Wins and Why: Deacs will have the frontcourt advantage by a mile now with Dwayne Collins out with a stress fracture–Miami’s guards can get hot, but they will not sustain it to take down Wake Forest.
7) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. 10) North Carolina Tar Heels(7:00 ET)
Key Matchup: GT Forwards Lawal/Favors vs. UNC Forwards Thompson/Henson–The Jackets have to come out with intensity and dominate the UNC forwards, and they should, handily.
Who Wins and Why: Georgia Tech out-classed the Heels in Chapel Hill and Atlanta this year–they come out focused and hungry, and UNC does not stand a chance.
6) Clemson Tigers vs. 11) NC State Wolfpack(9ish ET)
Key Matchup: Clemson Forward Trevor Booker vs. NC State Forward Tracy Smith–They can both go off and Clemson can win, but if only Smith plays well, the Tigers are in trouble. NC State finds the secret to stopping Booker like Wake and they will be set for the upset.
Who Wins and Why: …but that’s not happening–Booker likes the spotlight of the tournament and will respond–Tigers win by 10-15 points with slowly pulling away in the second half.
Matchups When This Happens…
Day Two(March 12)
12:00–1) Duke vs. 9) Virginia
2ish–4) Virginia Tech vs. 5) Wake Forest
7:00–2) Maryland vs. 7) Georgia Tech
9ish–3) Florida State vs. 6) Clemson
Who do you have winning on day one of the ACC Tourney? Can they make the four day run to the final?
2010 ACC Tournament Schedule/OTB in Greensboro!
We'll be tweeting it up live from Greensboro on ACC Quarterfinal Friday!
This year’s ACC Tournament is WIDE open and OTB will be all over it with live tweets/blog updates from Greensboro on Quarterfinal Friday at the ACC Tourney, and live blogs/commentary during each of the other games of the tournament–this and @onthebrinklive is the blog to be at during the festivities!
Seeds 1-12
1) Duke
2) Maryland
3) Florida State
4) Virginia Tech
5) Wake Forest
6) Clemson
7) Georgia Tech
8) Boston College
9) Virginia
10) North Carolina
11) North Carolina State
12) Miami
———————-
Matchups
1) Duke vs. 8] Boston College/9) Virginia
2) Maryland vs. 7) Georgia Tech/10) North Carolina
3) Florida State vs. 6) Clemson/11) NC State
4) Virginia Tech vs. 5) Wake Forest/12) Miami
Game Schedule
Day One(March 11)
12:00(EST)–8] BC vs. 9) UVA
2ish–5) Wake vs. 12) Miami
7:00–7) GT vs. 10) UNC
9ish–6) Clemson vs. 11) NC State
Day Two(March 12)
12:00–1) Duke vs. 8] BC/9) UVA
2ish–4) VT vs. 5) Wake/12)Miami
7:00–2) MD vs. 7) GT/10) UNC
9ish–3) FSU vs. 6) Clemson/11)NC State
Day Three(March 13)
1:30–1) Duke vs. 8] BC/9) UVA (vs.) 4) VT vs. 5) Wake/12)Miami
4:00–2) MD vs. 7) GT/10) UNC (vs.) 3) FSU vs. 6) Clemson/11)NC State
Day Four(March 14)
1:00–ACC Championship
Early ACC Tourney Thoughts
- Gotta like Duke to make it to the semis on first glance–I’ll be in the BC section of the ACC Tourney on Friday so a BC-Duke quarter might be fun.
- I’ve already dubbed the GT-UNC matchup–”Team Maryland Clobbers Invitational” so you know where I stand on Maryland’s entry to the semifinals.
- It’s the matchup that was dreaded since their game in Tallahassee just a few weeks ago–we could very well see a Clemson-Florida State quarterfinal–hoo-rah–watch it be a 100-99 game though.
- The best quarterfinal matchup of the day is naturally the 4-5 matchup with Virginia Tech/Wake Forest–I’m excited this potential game as it was great up in Blacksburg already this season. If Miami pulls off the upset–I’m not excited anymore, but good luck to the Canes anymore.
What are you thinking about the ACC Tourney? Favorite? Sleeper? Who’s making the trek to Greensboro? I’m driving 220+ miles there and back in a day…
OTB’s ACC Power Poll–Week 9
It's the suit.
Welcome to OTB’s ACC Power Poll! My ACC basketball power ranking here is less text, but packed with info you need for the coming week in ACC basketball as I have NCAA Tourney projections, all the records, who’s on a roll, and my picks for the big games of the week…enjoy!
(Records as of March 4, 2010; Key game(s) and ACC game 2 Watch on a Friday to Friday week; Remember: NCAA projections based on projected W/Ls up to end of regular season and off ACC Tourney; Bold denotes positive change from last week in tourney seed, Italics denotes negative change from last week in tourney seed)
Rank..(LW)….Team………………………Record
1)..(1)..Duke Blue Devils…………………………25-5(12-3 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Buying–a 1 seed. Momentum level: Medium;
Key game(s) this week: UNC.
2)..(2)..Maryland Terrapins……………………22-7(12-3 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Buying–a 4 seed. Momentum level: High;
Key game(s) this week: @UVA.
3)..(7)..Clemson Tigers………………21-8(9-6 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Buying–a 6 seed. Momentum level: Hot;
Key game(s) this week: @Wake.
4)..(3)..Florida State Seminoles………….21-8(9-6 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Buying a–9 seed. Momentum level: Medium;
Key game(s) this week: @Miami.
5)..(4)..Virginia Tech Hokies…………………..22-7(9-6 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Buying a–10 seed. Momentum level: Medium;
Key game(s) this week: @GT.
6).(6).Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets…………………18-10(7-8 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report:Buying a–11 seed. Momentum level: Low;
Key game(s) this week: VT.
7)..(5)..Wake Forest Demon Deacons…18-9(8-7 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report:Buying a–11 seed. Momentum level: Low;
Key game(s) this week: Clemson.
8)..(9)..Boston College Eagles………………….15-14(6-9 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Selling–CBI Bid. Momentum level: High;
Key game(s) this week: @NCSU.
9)..(12)..North Carolina Tar Heels………………………16-14(5-10 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Selling a–NIT bid. Momentum level: Low;
Key game(s) this week: @Duke.
10)..(8)..Virginia Cavaliers…………14-14(5-9 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Selling an–CBI Bid. Momentum level: Low;
Key game(s) this week: MD.
11)..(11)..North Carolina State Wolfpack………….15-14(4-11 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Selling a–CBI Bid. Momentum level: Medium;
Key game(s) this week: BC.
12)..(10)..Miami Hurricanes………………………18-11(4-11 ACC)
OTB’s March Madness Stock Report: Selling–no posteason. Momentum level: Low;
Key game(s) this week: FSU.
Loading ...ACC Game(s) 2 Watch This Week(16-5 record so far):
(5) Virginia Tech Hokies at (6) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Saturday at 4:00(Raycom).
OTB’s Prediction: Jackets 69 Hokies 65
The Why: The game will be a battle as the bubble weighs heavy on both teams–Yellow Jackets had a rough time of it against Clemson on Tuesday, but played better than the box score may tell. Georgia Tech’s guards have to be more involved both on defense against Delaney/Hudson and scoring consistently–Oliver, Shumpert, and Rice Jr. will be big here. Georgia Tech gets the win they absolutely need, but it’s not easy.
(3) Clemson Tigers at (7) Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Sunday at 6.
OTB’s Prediction: Tigers 73 Deacs 69
The Why: A couple weeks ago–this would have been a major upset–now, Wake Forest is failing on a epic scale as catalyst Al-Farouq Aminu has disappeared while the Tigers have won 6 of 8. I’m all for the power of senior day and the home crowd advantage–but if Aminu continues to struggle–the Deacs are a ship aimlessly tossed by waves of pressure March basketball and Clemson has little to lose in this one.
Alright, one weekend to go! Who wins this weekend and why? NCAA/ACC Tourney projections you care to share?
OTB Live: Senior Nights in Clemson and Chapel Hill
Deon Thompson and the UNC seniors seek to end on a good note in the Dean Dome.
Live at 8 EST, we’re covering the final career games at the Dean Dome and Littlejohn Coliseum for the Tigers and Heels–and the Jackets and Canes who are trying to ruin it with their own ambitions. Come on in to talk whatever you want in ACC basketball whether the games themselves, brackets for the ACC and NCAA Tournments, tomorrow’s ACC games, and the rest of the season.
OTB’s ACC Tournament Projections–Edition Six
Booker's free throw shooting and defense carried the Tigers to an ACC road win and it's senior night in Clemson tonight.
This year’s ACC Tournament could be as vital as it has been in recent history to NCAA Tourney bids…here’s how I project the seeds right now. For the next couple weeks, I’ll have the post-weekend edition on OTB and over at Raycom after the mid-week games.
I’ve been crunching numbers, breaking down schedules, looking at tiebreakers, and flipping coins. Here’s how I project the ACC season to finish…
| Team | ACC Record | ACC Seed | Proj. Tiebreak |
| Duke | 13-3 |
1 |
1-1; 1-0; 4-0 |
| Maryland | 13-3 |
2 |
1-1; 2-0; 1-2 |
| Florida State | 10-6 |
3 |
|
| Virginia Tech | 9-7 |
4 |
2-0 |
| Wake Forest | 9-7 |
5 |
1-1 |
| Clemson | 9-7 |
6 |
0-2 |
| Georgia Tech | 8-8 |
7 |
|
| Boston College | 6-10 |
8 |
|
| Virginia | 5-11 |
9 |
2-0 |
| North Carolina | 5-11 |
10 |
2-1 |
| NC State | 5-11 |
11 |
1-2 |
| Miami | 4-12 |
12 |
———————-
Projected Matchups
1) Duke vs. 8] Boston College/9) Virginia
2) Maryland vs. 7) Georgia Tech/10) North Carolina
3) Florida State vs. 6) Clemson/11) NC State
4) Virginia Tech vs. 5) Wake Forest/12) Miami
Game Schedule
Day One(March 11)
12:00(EST)–8] BC vs. 9) UVA
2:00–5) Wake vs. 12) Miami
7:00–7) GT vs. 10) UNC
9:00–6) Clemson vs. 11) NC State
Day Two(March 12)
12:00–1) Duke vs. 8] BC/9) UVA
2:00–4) VT vs. 5) Wake/12)Miami
7:00–2) MD vs. 7) GT/10) UNC
9:00–3) FSU vs. 6) Clemson/11)NC State
Day Three(March 13)
1:30–1) Duke vs. 8] BC/9) UVA (vs.) 4) VT vs. 5) Wake/12)Miami
4:00–2) MD vs. 7) GT/10) UNC (vs.) 3) FSU vs. 6) Clemson/11)NC State
Day Four(March 14)
1:00–ACC Championship
Projection Quirks/Commentary
>Top four seeds remain the same as the last projections on Raycom, but the records are jumbled with Maryland gaining another win after the good road win at Virginia Tech, FSU loses a win to go down to 10-6, and the Hokies drop a win due to the Terps loss. The Tigers bumped from 8-8 to 9-7 to get ahead of Georgia Tech. BC surpassed Virginia to move up one to the 8 seed–the ‘Hoos keep the losing streak all the way to the ACC Tournament–hard to see any other result for them. The three-way battle for the last slot mixed up over the weekend with Miami sliding the bottom, UNC and NC State moving up with wins.
> On the tiebreakers, I was going off from the ACC official site page on them.
> After Duke taking the top spot wire-to-wire in the projections, the Blue Devils enter the tie-break section as they lose on Wednesday, but win the tie-break. This one is a bit complicated–since Maryland/Duke split the season series, so their respective records against the next highest team is the determining factor–both were undefeated against 3 seed FSU. The next slot down–we have another tie-break. Maryland and Duke’s record against Clemson, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech is combined and Duke comes out 4-0 with the Terps going 1-2 after losing to Wake Forest and Clemson.
> The next fun tie-breaker is the three-way with Clemson, Wake, and Virginia Tech. The Hokies prevail for the last bye in the ACC Tourney with a 2-0 record, Wake next to the 5th seed at 1-1, and Clemson on the short end with a 0-2 record to get them to 6th.
> The last tie-breaker is another three-way with Virginia, North Carolina, and NC State. Virginia swept the Tobacco Road teams, UNC went 2-1, and NC State 0-2.
Tourney Talk
First Round/Quarterfinals
> Duke has the same quarterfinal dancing partners and should cruise to the semis. Virginia Tech and Wake Forest–though not playing like it now–are deadly quarterfinal matchups, but gotta like Duke to make it to the finals. In the other bracket, Maryland/Georgia Tech and Clemson/FSU rematches are juicy–one being a lot more offensive in the scoring way and other in a different manner. But watch that Clemson/NC State first round matchup as the Wolfpack are charging into March and could present trouble with more of a home-court up in Greensboro.
Semifinals/Finals
Maryland should get past Georgia Tech and also beat Florida State/Clemson/NC State to face Duke. The Duke/Maryland rematch occurs in Greensboro–something you know, but I bring this up because Gary Williams doesn’t have the best of luck in the state of NC and Duke will have the home crowd–expect a Duke ACC Championship out of this edition.
Looking to tweak this after each series of games—your input is encouraged. What team will perform better than projected? Who will be worse? Who do you like in the matchups to win the ACC Tourney right now?
OTB over at Seldom Used Reserve Q&A!
If you are in the mood for a little college football talk in the month of March, check out my Q&A over at the Seldom Used Reserve on Clemson’s 2009 season, spring football, and 2010 season predictions!
OTB’s ACC B-Ball Weekend Wrap-Up–03/01/10
Welcome to OTB’s ACC B-Ball Weekend Wrap-Up where we rewind the games by ranking the headlines from the weekend of ACC basketball.
1) Terps Top Hokies in Double OT Affair 104-100
In a game that was weird from the start, both the Terps and Hokies put up triple digits with Grievis Vasquez’s 41 points putting Maryland over the top for the big ACC road win setting up a huge game on Wednesday with Duke at home. Like the water main break chain reaction from the beer truck that delayed the game, the Hokies inability to get anybody on Vasquez was the killer–but Malcolm Delaney, Jeff Allen, and Dorenzo Hudson all put up big games to keep pace. Hokies have NC State and Georgia Tech to finish up–a sweep would be nice, but the split is mandatory. Terps win out and they have a shot at the number 1 seed in the ACC Tournament–but more on that tomorrow for the ACC Tournament Projections.
2) Clemson Pulls Out Beautifully Ugly ACC Road Win at Florida State
With over 15 minutes gone in the first half, Clemson had scored 6 points, but FSU had only 19. The Noles could not pull away and Clemson went on a 21-2 run including a Andre Young half-court buzzer-beater to get within 2 at the half. The game went back and forth in the second half, and Andre Young came up big again with another huge 3 to take a 49-47 lead that would not be relinquished. For FSU, this was a huge opportunity missed, but they still have a top four ACC seed in their sights with a home game with the struggling Deacs and the trip to rival Miami. No rest for the Tigers as they get right back at it on Tuesday for senior night in Littlejohn against the Jackets.
3) Deacs Continue Slide as Tar Heels Pull Off Road Shocker
The Deacs Aminu was shut down at home with only 7 points and Ish Smith only added 12 as the Heels pulled out the 77-68 win. UNC freshman Leslie McDonald led the Heels in scoring on the road with 16 points(No word on whether he is transferring or not–just kidding). The Deacs finish with a mad ‘Noles and hungry Tigers in a difficult end to a struggling end of season performance.
4) Duke Rolls on to 1 Seed Line with Bracketologists
With Landesberg injured and the ‘Hoos already struggling, Duke rolled from start to finish 67-49.
5) Jackets Get Back on Track for NCAA Bid with Win over BC
Iman Shumpert added 24 points and led the Jackets down the stretch in a 73-68 win over the Eagles. Freshman Derrick Favors impressed also with 14 points and 5 rebounds. BC’s Joe Trapani knocked in 26 points and 6 rebounds in the loss.
6) NC State Wins Battle of Irrelevancy over Miami
There may not have been a more meaningless game to ACC race than this one–but NC State kept rolling to a 2 game winning streak after a 71-66 win at Miami. This time, Miami didn’t have a lead at the half to cough up, but NC State won anyway–the race for last is on now with Miami being in the driver’s seat to face the 5 seed in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
Happy March! We have one week of ACC regular season basketball to go! Who finishes strong? Who fails to the finish?