Bracketology Losers: Lumps of coal this Christmas for the Pac-12 and SEC

ACC

While they didn’t make it out quite as unblemished as the Big East did, the ACC also has five more teams. So, there’s more opportunity for failure to go around.

With that in mind, the league provided more fodder for this week’s installment of Bracketology Losers. Probably the most easily identified candidate would be Virginia. There is much disagreement among college basketball media and fans regarding the reigning champions. The defense, of course, has never been the issue. The Cavaliers are the best defensive team in the country. But the offense has been awful at times and average at most others. This dynamic was on full display this weekend as Tony Bennett’s team lost its second game of the year to South Carolina. This team still has a lot to prove.

Mike Brey’s Notre Dame team hasn’t inspired much confidence for an at-large bid this season, with their best win of the season being an overtime victory over Toledo. But the Irish had a shot to put a dent in the bright red armor of Indiana. Notre Dame made a strident comeback but came up just short of gaining what would have been a quality victory. The loss leaves them with nothing of note to show the Selection Committee—and a lot of work to do in the ACC.

Another probable bubble team that swung and missed last week was NC State. The Wolfpack were the latest team to run into the undefeated Auburn buzzsaw, but they held up admirably, losing by just six. Honestly, I don’t think that Kevin Keatts is any worse off than he was, but a loss is a loss. Still, their resume so far is a little lacking, with UNC Greensboro and Wisconsin serving as the biggest positives, while an opening night loss to Georgia Tech is looking worse and worse.

Speaking of the Yellow Jackets, the wheels were starting to come off before a win in the Diamond Head Classic over Boise State. Earlier, Georgia Tech did some serious damage to its resume by losing to Ball State…by 18…at home. Yeesh. But the bracket is pretty far from Josh Pastner’s mind. With the controversy surrounding the program, Pastner is coaching for his job this season—assuming the school is willing to undertake what might be a difficult coaching search.

And while job security is a concept that Roy Williams has transcended, his Tar Heels are in trouble. North Carolina’s biggest issue last week was not the 94-81 loss to Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are likely to be the next #1 team in the nation, so you can excuse that result. The worst part of the week for the Tar Heels was getting the news that star freshman Cole Anthony would be out for 4-6 weeks with a torn meniscus. Still, Coach Roy didn’t let his team wallow for too long and guided them to victory of the flailing UCLA Bruins.

More and more, this league is looking like it is going to top out around six bids. And shockingly, the Tar Heels may not be among them.

Another NCAA Tournament stalwart suddenly finds itself in danger out in central Indiana, as we head out to the next conference.