Sunday, March 9, 2014

Conference Tournament: ACC

Trevor Cooney
The ACC has been a crazy conference this year, Syracuse emerging at first and Duke and UNC coming up late with Virginia consistently being the best team throughout conference play. Now, the conference tournament is likely to be extremely exciting and could go to anyone.

Bubble Teams: Florida State sits on the outside looking in for the NCAA tournament but an impressive conference tournament will help. Clemson has been surprising this year and is 10-8 inside the conference but looks to be an NIT team.

First Round:
12 Georgia Tech 67
13 Notre Dame 71
It has been a rough year in South Bend for Mike Brey and the Fighting Irish where injuries have really ruined their year. Senior guard Eric Atkins could still lead them to a big first round victory.

10 Miami 68
15 Virginia Tech 61
A Hokies' team that went 2-16 in conference play this year will try to figure things out in a hurry against a Miami team who has never really figured out their offense this season. Senior Rion Brown is the only consistent threat for the 'Canes and will be counted on to get them a win.

11 Wake Forest 65
14 Boston College 57
Boston College pulled off the biggest upset of the year when they stunned Syracuse but they haven't done much other than that inside the ACC. Wake is the better team than the Eagles but if they don't stop Oliver Hanlan they could struggle.

Second Round:

8 Maryland 70
9 NC State 73
The most underrated player in the ACC, sophomore T.J. Warren, will hope to lead the Wolfpack to a victory over Dez Wells and an inconsistent Terps squad. The talented but young backcourt for the Wolfpack should decide this matchup.

5 Pittsburgh 75
13 Notre Dame 65
The only way that the Irish come away with the upset here is if they shut down do-it-all Lamar Patterson. Patterson, who is putting up 17.6 points per game and 4.5 assists should be enough to guide the Panthers on.

7 Florida State 68
10 Miami 66
Florida State will hope to drown the 'Canes after a rough loss last time the teams met. Sophomore guard Aaron Thomas, their leading scorer, will be leaned on. The Seminoles need somebody to step up and handle Miami big man Tonye Jekiri who is a load to handle in the paint.

6 Clemson 66
11 Wake Forest 60
Junior forward K.J. McDaniels will try to lead a dangerous Tigers' team who looks to make a run before their first postseason bid since 2010-2011. Clemson doesn't score much but they play defense and are fundamentally sound.

Quarterfinals:

1 Virginia 79
9 NC State 64
The Cavaliers put together a great year, going 16-2 inside the tough ACC and beating Duke and Syracuse along the way. Senior forward Akil Mitchell is a force in the paint and senior sharpshooter Joe Harris should stretch the NC State defense thin.

4 UNC 81
5 Pittsburgh 77
The Tar Heels were putting together an impressive 12 game win streak before a tough rivalry loss to Duke but they should still have a ton of momentum heading into this one. Sophomore guard Marcus Paige should guide the Tar Heels and the depth of UNC is tough to handle.

2 Syracuse 72
7 Florida State 61
Great three-point shooting can kill the Orange's zone but Florida State has lacked consistency from downtown. If the Orange are to make a deep ACC tournament run they need guards Tyler Ennis and Trevor Cooney to find their form again.

3 Duke 76
6 Clemson 75
Few teams can match the Blue Devils' offense when Jabari Parker is aggressive and Rodney Hood is on his game. Clemson has a real shot at this one if McDaniels has a big game and if they can hold back the dangerous three-point shooters that Duke has.

Semifinals:
1 Virginia 68
4 UNC 71
This meeting could all depend on what goes on around the basket. Both these teams can beat teams down low and whoever performs better should sneak outa win. If Paige plays well and somebody else steps up the Heels should find themselves in the conference championship.

2 Syracuse 82
3 Duke 78
The first two meetings between these teams have been fantastic and this third one could be even better. The Orange have really cooled down but C.J. Fair is still a dangerous scorer and Ennis plays better in big games. Duke really lacks a big man to counter Baye Keita and Rakeem Christmas underneath.

Championship:
4 UNC 67
2 Syracuse 64
These two teams might be the deepest inside the ACC and both have players that can dominate when they get hot. Junior James Michael McAdoo has started to figure out his game and should be a force.

ACC Winner: UNC 
It is amazing how much different this team has looked since their 11-7 start. Their 12 game win streak has proven they have found a number of guys that contribute on the scoreboard, they make better decisions and play strong defense.




No comments: