ACC Conference Tournament Preview
I’m not sure a league had a more bonkers regular season than the storied ACC. Teams from top to bottom made noise weekly! We saw last place Louisville “Upset” top of the league Clemson, Miami blow a 25 point lead at home to lose at the buzzer to rival Florida State and even saw first place Pittsburgh lose from start to finish at Notre Dame in Mike Brey’s final home game as Fighting Irish Head Coach. We also saw a roller coaster North Carolina squad go from preseason #1 to the bubble and Duke get revenge on the Tarheels from a season ago by sweeping them under first year Head Coach Jon Scheyer. We asked the question in December and we sit here in March without an answer, but in Greensboro we will find out… Who is the best team in the ACC!?
Key Teams
Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Ok so the Hurricanes had a strong regular season and are led by a high powered offense. They can space the court with a talented backcourt (Led by veteran guard #2 Isaiah Wong) and multiple versatile frontcourt players (#11 Jordan Miller, #15 Norchad Omier first D1 player from Nicaragua (Bluefields) that are hard to stay in front of. Miami is a dangerous team from deep with the 3 ball, they do a great job at not turning it over and they have scored 75+ points in nine straight games. The concern for this team is the lackluster defense that could break their hopes of advancing in the postseason. Pretty simple, the flow of the game that Miami has on offense is fun, but if they don’t consistently bring it defensively they are going to be a quick out.
Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils head into the ACC Tournament in Greensboro as the hottest team in the ACC on a six game win streak, ending the regular season with a road win over arch rival North Carolina. They are a young team simply growing into their own. They are playing Duke basketball. Good defense, sharing the ball and pushing the ball off of misses and turnovers. #3 Jeremy Roach (PG) has been a good veteran leader for this group and versatile forward #30 Kyle Filipowski has been one of the best freshman players in college basketball all season long.
North Carolina Tar Heels
From preseason No.1 to the bubble. Unbelievable, but here they are. If UNC wants to get in the Big Dance, they are going to have to get to at least the semifinals, which would require a quarterfinal win in their second game of the event vs. Virginia. If they win 2 or 3 in a row, they have a chance to dance. If not, no dance! The Tar Heels are going to need to play consistent defense and take good shots on offense. It starts and end with the backcourt duo of RJ Davis and Caleb Love.
Key Players
Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest:
Electric point guard who is an incredible shot maker, has a chip on his shoulder and gets after it defensively. Will be must a watch in Greensboro. Can he have a Randolph Childress 1995 Demon Deacon type run and lead Wake Forest to the ACC Tournament crown!?
Hunter Cattoor, Virginia Tech:
Last year’s Everett Case award winner (ACC Tournament MVP named after the NC State coaching legend). Cattoor is an ELITE three point shooter! Oh and by the way, he helped lead Virginia Tech to a championship a season ago.
El Ellis, Louisville:
The Cardinals are in last place but that’s not because of Ellis, who has been great this season. Big Game El will rise to the occasion on the big stage in Greensboro!
Kihei Clark, Virginia:
One of the most underrated point guards in the country. No this is not copy and pasted from any of the past 4 seasons. Clark may not score like crazy but makes winning plays! If Virginia wants to win it all in Greensboro, it starts and ends with Kihei.
Championship Prediction
No.4 Duke over No.3 Clemson
Trying to pick the winner of this thing sounds like an impossible task. However, I love how Duke is playing right now. A confident bunch who is riding a wave of momentum and I believe Jon Scheyer has done a fantastic first year head coaching job as well. Clemson won’t be an easy out, with a strong frontcourt led by #5 Hunter Tyson and #24 PJ Hall, the Tigers really impressed with a blowout road win from start to finish at NC State to end February. But I said at the beginning of this thing that it’s time to officially find out who the best team in the storied ACC is this season and I believe Duke will be cutting down the nets in Greensboro because yes, I believe this is the best team in the ACC!
