Don't those ACC basketball standings look pretty?
I think I could stare at them all day with No. 24 Virginia (18-7, 9-3 ACC) tied for first place with No. 5 North Carolina (23-4, 9-3 ACC).
Since we're at 9-3 in ACC play with four games to go, I'm not putting on my dancing shoes yet, but the polish has been taken out of the closet.
Only two ACC teams have ever failed to make the dance with a 9-7 conference record (one being Virginia in 1999-2000), so things are in place for the Wahoos.The big hindrance right now is the Cavaliers' sixth highest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) in the ACC, behind UNC, Duke, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Boston College. The RPI, an important factor for the NCAA basketball tournament selection committee, is based heavily on strength of schedule; furthermore, Virginia's nonconference losses to Appalachian State and Utah in Puerto Rico hurt the Wahoo's ranking. A couple more ACC victories, however, will clear up any controversy.
As exciting as going to the Big Show for the first time since 2000-2001 is, I'm beginning to think some postseason accolades might also be coming up Route 29.
Our top dog, Dave Leitao, is right in the thick of things for ACC Coach of the Year. The sophomore head coach has led a remarkable turnaround for a squad that, last season, finished 15-15 overall (7-9 ACC), tied for seventh in the conference and lost in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.
Pegged to finish eighth in this season's ACC preseason poll, Leitao's hard-nosed, disciplined approach to defense and rebounding is creating quite the buzz in the ACC.
His main competition comes from Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, whose Hokies were predicted to finish sixth in the conference and stand in fourth place with an 8-4 mark in ACC play and at 18-8 overall. Greenberg's stock gets a boost because his boys went 4-12 in the conference last year. His squad, however, has also experienced abysmal nonconference losses to Western Michigan (12-14, 6-6 MAC) and Marshall (10-16, 5-7 C-USA), and they got walloped by N.C. State in Raleigh Sunday.
One can't forget about last year's winner, Roy Williams, whose Tar Heels are tied for first, and Boston College coach Al Skinner, whose Eagles are third in the ACC.
Neither Williams' nor Skinner's accomplishments, however, match what Leitao and Greenberg have done in the Commonwealth, considering how experts across the country predicted their teams would perform.
Leitao's sideline stares may give little children nightmares, and his floor-rattling knee stomps may be felt by most of those sitting courtside, but the man is getting the Ws and the players are responding.
"It's about 95 percent Coach Leitao and five percent us," junior point guard Sean Singletary told the Washington Post last Saturday. "We're not the most talented bunch in the world. Everybody knows that. But he's the difference. He puts the right combination of players together and creates an environment for us to win."
The job Leitao has done is even more impressive considering the fact that the vast majority of Virginia's offense revolves around the perimeter -- Singletary and J.R. Reynolds more or less -- with minimal low-post scoring presence.
Our spot in the tourney may be locked up by Thursday, March 1 when Virginia Tech comes to The John on senior night. But Leitao's boys will have even more on the line than the chance for redemption from the shellacking at the hands of the Hokies Feb. 10 in Blacksburg.
It may be the opportunity for the Cavaliers to bring home much deserved ACC Coach of the Year honors to their second-year head coach from DePaul.
Maybe we'll even save some clipboards in the process.
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