NCAA Basketball: ACC struggles, Gonzaga dropping, and more takeaways
By Brian Rauf
2) The ACC may only get four NCAA Tournament bids
The ACC has been the clear-cut best conference in college basketball over the past few years, but this has been – and looks to continue to be – one of the worst seasons in recent memory for the conference.
Duke has delivered on their preseason expectations and is my No. 1 team over Gonzaga, while Florida State has exceeded theirs. Other than that? Everyone has been disappointing.
Louisville has lost three of their last five games after being ranked No. 1 and will drop out of the top 10 on Monday. Virginia has been fine, but it’s clear they’re not a title contender. North Carolina has completed fallen off the map after Cole Anthony’s injury and there’s no guarantee they make the NCAA Tournament, particularly after Saturday’s ugly home loss to Georgia Tech. The same can be said for NC State, who lost to Clemson by double digits.
Outside of those top six teams, no one has taken advantage and had a breakout season. Boston College and Georgia Tech are fifth and sixth, respectively, in the ACC standings, and they have overall records of 8-6 and 7-7.
Because of that, there’s a very real chance the conference only sends four teams – Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Virginia – to the NCAA Tournament.
UNC may very well save their season when Cole Anthony returns to the court and NC State is capable of getting the kind of wins that would put them in, but both teams (and everyone else) have some real work to do before Selection Sunday.