So, after a roller coaster of a season, the Tar Heels are the ACC Regular Season Champs. However, in what is the whacky world of college basketball, we all know that for the most part the conferences crown their Champions not on what they did during the full length of a season, but rather on a tournament that means a lot to teams needing to get into the NCAA Tournament the following week, little to the ones that are in and might be wanting to rest up for the Big Dance and who knows what for the teams that would only go to March Madness if they won this tournament. And while below is the entire schedule for this week’s tournament, you know I will be mostly focused on what Carolina, the number one seed in Greensboro, does/plays, even if this post will not resemble that remark.
First off let’s start off with the fact, as head coach Roy Williams has said many times, to him this post-season tournament is nothing more than a “cocktail party”. Truth be known I am 100% behind that statement. As I said before for the teams that are in the NCAAs this is just three more days where they risk getting injuries to their players and blowing a shot going deep into the Big Dance. Having said all of that the question in most people’s minds that follow Carolina basketball has to be: “would a good showing, such as getting to the championship game, make the Tar Heels a lock as a second seed?”
It’s not as easy to answer as people would imagine. Sure, on paper, a good showing by coach Williams’ squad would definitely put them in “the talk” of being amongst the top eight teams in this tournament, if not higher. However, the ACC Tournament is not the only one out there, and there are plenty of teams that could be in the same position as Carolina is. Plus there is another thing to value in all of this, if UNC (ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has them as a 3 seed in his most recent bracket) was to meet up with Duke (Lunardi has a 1 seed) for the second time in a week and the Tar Heels would win once again, would that make them a two seed and the Blue Devils slide from a possible one to a three? I truly doubt that would happen, but if that scenario were to come up how would the committee work it out? Both teams two seeds? I don’t see that happening either, so I would have to almost venture that a final of UNC vs Duke would, no matter the outcome, have the Heels and the Blue Devils as two and three seeds, depending who won the game.
But before we get out the selection committee calculator on who goes where let’s look a bit at the pairings and what should happen in the first day of the tournament. First off, along with UNC and Duke, #3 Florida State (Lunardi has them 9 seed) and #4 Clemson (Lunardi has them as a 12 seed – but also has them as one of his last four in) have a bye on Thursday. So the match ups are:
#8 seed Virginia vs. #9 seed Miami
#5 seed Boston College vs. #12 seed Wake Forest
#7 seed Maryland vs. #10 seed NC State
#6 seed Virginia Tech vs. #11 seed Georgia Tech
Of all of those games the only other teams that bracketologist Joe Lunardi has going to the Big Dance are Virginia Tech (19-10, 9-7 in the ACC), as a ten seed, and Boston College (19-11, 9-7 in the ACC), as a 12 seed. The Eagles are also part of the quartet that Lunardi sees as the last four in. This all means what? Well, first off, in day one of the tourney BC must win against Wake, something I am pretty sure that is going to happen having watched both of the teams play many times this year. As a matter of fact this match up was the last game for both teams and Boston College beat Wake Forest very easily, with the final score being 84 to 68.
That would put the Eagles on that 20 games won plateau that a lot of people believe is key when the committee picks the teams that belong in the tournament. What’s good for Boston College is that their next game is against Clemson (20-10, 9-7 in the ACC), a team they lost to on the road about a month ago, but is not that much better than the Eagles. This game just might be the key on whether the ACC gets six teams or five or maybe just four. A good showing by both teams, with a final score being close, might make the committee think about both of them going in. A blow out by one or the other gets the conference five teams in. A bad game by both, no matter what the score and the Atlantic Coast Conference sees just a quartet this year in March Madness.
The other game to keep an eye on is the one between Virginia Tech (19-10, 9-7 in the ACC) and Georgia Tech (5-11, 13-17 in the ACC). The Hokies must win this game at all cost, a loss here would might make a quartet turn into a trio of squads. And while the two teams seems pretty different by their records they did split the season’s match ups. On the other hand, if VT was to win this game they would then face FSU (21-9. 11-5 in the ACC), a team they beat at the beginning of January.
Now, having read all of this and knowing that I am a Tar Heel blog, don’t you see why the tournament means a lot to some, little to others and nothing/everything to few? UNC and Duke, while both having different mentalities on this post season tourney, might have something to gain, but is trying to win this tournament worth risking injuries or even getting players tired for next week? On the other hand teams like BC, VT, Clemson are playing for a lot, because for two out of three it means their name being mentioned on Sunday or not. There is no way you can tell me that those teams will look at this in the same way that UNC does, because it would just not make sense to do so.
Sure, there is something for UNC, going from below .500 season in the conference to winning the regular season is a step. Winning this tournament would be another. Moving up from a three seed to a 2 would be another. But again, as I said earlier, how many teams that are right there, on the border of a 2 and 3 seed can move up with a good showing in the conference tournament? Syracuse, San Diego St, Wisconsin all come to mind, and that is without thinking too hard about it.
In the end, as it will always be, for the top teams their conference’s post season tournament puts them more at risk of losing something than gaining it, while for the teams that are in the tournament, but in lower seeding, it gives them a chance to get moved up come Sunday. Finally, for the teams that have nothing to lose, well, that’s exactly that. They get a win or two, it won’t help them, but it might surely hurt anyone that they do beat! Yes, daggum, in the end this is a “cocktail party”, and the worst part is that if you are not careful you will go home with a bad taste in your mouth from it!
Original Story:
http://www.the5thcorner.com/its-tourn...
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