As the ACC wraps up one of its more topsy-turvy men's basketball seasons in recent memory, the Conference Tournament bracket is beginning to come together. Now comes the hard part: figuring out which ACC teams will earn spots in the NCAA Tournament.
Last season, Duke, North Carolina and Maryland were the lone Conference representatives in The Dance. This year, ESPN and CNN/SI list only four ACC teams as true contenders for a spot in the NCAA Tourney, compared to seven clubs in conferences like the SEC, Big East and Big 12.
Duke (22-4, 13-1 ACC), the nation's fourth-ranked team, is universally acknowledged as a lock for a Tournament bid and an excellent candidate for one of the four top seeds. No. 17 Maryland (21-7, 10-4) continues to climb in the polls and is also virtually assured of an invitation to Dance.
That leaves Virginia (18-9, 8-6) and North Carolina (17-11, 8-6) perched on the much-ballyhooed NCAA bubble, with rapidly fading N.C. State (15-11, 5-10) a distant possibility. ESPN and CNN/SI agree that both the Cavaliers and Tar Heels should make the Tourney.
It's no surprise that Virginia Coach Pete Gillen says his team is worthy of an invite, but he also champions the Carolina cause.
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Right now, the Blue Devils and Terrapins are the only ACC teams with 20 wins, but Florida State Coach Steve Robinson pointed to the strength of the teams throughout the Conference to explain why only two teams boast eye-popping records.
"Hopefully [the NCAA Selection Committee] will look at it in a positive light in how we beat up on each other so much," Robinson said. "From top to bottom, [the teams in the ACC] are far more competitive than we were last year. And our league has reached out and challenged every other league in college basketball."
N.C. State Coach Herb Sendek compared the ACC to larger conferences like the SEC, where powerful teams may not play each other every year due to the size of the conference.
Wake Forest "Coach [Dave] Odom got it right last year when he pointed out we're the only league that plays a complete round-robin schedule and then plays a conference tournament," Sendek said. "When you do that, the numbers are hard to crunch."
No matter how many ACC teams receive good news on Selection Sunday, the Conference's coaches steadfastly maintain that the ACC can match up with any league.
"I still think we're one of the best conferences," North Carolina Coach Bill Guthridge said. "Maybe some years we've been overrated, but I think this year we're underrated"
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