Tuesday, March 10, 2009

ACC Tourney Breakdown

The long and the short of it: The ACC Tournament champion will be a team from North Carolina. Yeah, I know, a quarter of the field already calls North Carolina home. Gives me a 1 in 4 shot of being right. Sorry, but that's just how this thing is going to go.

THURSDAY:
NOON-(8) Virginia Tech v. (9) Miami: I like Miami in the mild upset. These 8-9 games are usually toss ups, and I give Miami the slight edge. Loads of athleticism, and Jack McClinton should be enough to get them into quarterfinal action.

2:30 p.m.-(5) Clemson v. (12) Georgia Tech: There's a reason the Yellow Jackets won just twice in conference play. That reason was blind luck. Clemson moves on.

7:00 p.m.-(7) Maryland v. (10) NC State: Maryland has played well of late, and NC State's spurt near the end of the season was nice to introduce some new hope, but if Greivis Vazquez makes the Georgia Dome his personal playground, the Wolfpack will find themselves on I-85 North (or on a plane) in a hurry. Terps move on.

9:30 p.m.-(6) B.C. v. (11) Virginia: Should be a light workout for BC, as the Eagles have enjoyed a nice year, after being a pre-season pick to finish 11th. BC moves on to the quarters.

FRIDAY:
NOON-(1) UNC v. Miami: Heels too strong, and now too focused to let the Hurricanes stop them. Miami will make a game of it, but look for Carolina to move to the semi's

2:30 p.m.-(4) Florida State v. Clemson: FSU Has had a great season, but this will not be a reward for it. A tough draw for the Seminoles in their tourney opener. They went 10-6 in the regular season league slate, Clemson 9-7. I'll nod to FSU here, but it won't be easy.

7:00 p.m.-(2) Wake Forest v. Maryland: Deacs are playing some tough basketball right now, a nice bounce back from a bit of a lull when they weren't at their best. Dino Gaudio is to be commended, as he has really taken this program from tragedy and turned it into bonafide elite. Deacs win and move on.

9:30 p.m.-(4) Duke v. Boston College: Tough draw for Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils. I expect the Eagles to give Duke some trouble, maybe even lead late. I can't pick against Duke, however, because watching them play UNC on the final day of the season, I saw a team that, if healthy, could have beaten Carolina. I think the Devils will advance, but, as always, it won't be easy.

SATURDAY:
UNC-FSU. Will likely be the better of the 2 semi-final games, and I give UNC the win here. Carolina just has too many weapons, and they know how to use them.

Wake-Duke. Duke's ACC tourney stops in the 2nd game. Wake just too much of a roll right now, and being this close to the conference title game will be enough of a carrot to get the Deacs into the finals.

SUNDAY:
UNC v. Wake Forest. I know this won't be popular in Chapel Hill, but I like Wake in this game, and I like them in overtime. Not because they are the better team, but because this team has something special about it. It's one of those things you can't quantify, you just know it's there. I think Wake will have to hit a shot to force the OT, and likely have to take control of the win in the closing minute of the extra frame. I called it earlier, that Wake could be the team to beat, and now I am making them the team to beat.

What do you think? Leave a comment!

Mike Solarte

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your co host said that UNC is a #1 seed in the NCAA regardless of what they do in the ACC tourney and should sit Lawson. If Wake runs the table and beats UNC for a second time and only has five losses are they not the #1 seed in G-Boro ???

Anonymous said...

Wake beat Duke. AH AH that;s funny everyone know's Duke is going to win this tourny, whether they or UNC Booooooooooooooooooooooo like's it or not