ACC: Best conference may only get four bids

It was another strong regular season for the ACC, with the league posting the nation’s best RPI for the fourth year out of the last five and registering the top winning percentage in competition with the other five power conferences.

Yet with play soon to begin in the 55th annual ACC Tournament in Charlotte, N.C., plenty of prognosticators predict that the conference will receive just four bids to the NCAA Tournament.

“I don’t understand what has happened where our league doesn’t get the credit it deserves,” Miami coach Frank Haith said. “We have great teams in our league, we do what we’re supposed to do. Percentagewise, we win more games than any other conference against other top conferences across the country.

“Then we get in our league play, and we just beat each other up because it’s so competitive and there are no bad teams in our league. I don’t think we get credit for that. There’s no way that I don’t think six teams should not get in the tournament from our league. At least.”

While Haith wants what’s best for the ACC, he need not worry about his own team. The Hurricanes (21-9, 8-8) should join North Carolina (29-2, 14-2), Duke (26-4, 13-3) and Clemson (22-8, 10-6) in the NCAA Tournament, regardless of what happens in conference tournaments around the country this weekend.

But after Miami, who knows?

Virginia Tech (18-12, 9-7) and Maryland (18-13, 8-8) appear to be on the outside looking in, despite posting league records of at least .500 in the No. 1 conference in the country.

“As far as where we are with the NCAA, it used to be that if you went 8-8 in the ACC, you were in,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “But that doesn’t necessarily hold true anymore with the number of teams that get into the tournament now. I know our league RPI-wise is the strongest in the country, but at the same time, there are a lot of good teams out there. Hopefully we can play well in the ACC Tournament.”

Maryland must do that because it enters play at Charlotte Bobcats Arena having lost four of its last five games. The Terrapins have a victory at North Carolina to their credit, but they are a combined 0-6 against the other teams seeded ahead of them in the conference tournament (Duke, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Miami).

Plus, Maryland has back-to-back home losses to Ohio and American in its portfolio. That contributes to the Terrapins’ unfavorable position of No. 69 in the RPI.

“I really don’t follow the RPI,” Williams said. “I don’t know it. Maybe I should. I don’t worry about other teams because the only thing that counts is if you win games. That takes care of everything.”

The No. 6 seed Terrapins get a chance to get back on track Thursday against No. 11 seed Boston College (13-16, 4-12), but even a win in that game might not be enough to earn them a spot in the Big Dance.

Maryland likely would not be in this precarious position had it not blown a 20-point second-half lead in a 73-70 loss to Clemson on March 2. Virginia Tech also can blame the Tigers for its postseason predicament.

In a battle for third place in the league Sunday, the Hokies led Clemson by five points with 3 minutes to play and held a 69-68 advantage after a layup by Deron Washington with 9.1 seconds left. But Clemson’s Demontez Stitt made a pair of free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining to lift the Tigers to a 70-69 victory.

Had Virginia Tech picked up its 10th league victory and finished the regular season in third place, the selection committee would have had little choice to but to put the team in the NCAA Tournament.

But fourth place and nine league wins is an easier combination to reject, especially considering some other key factors. Virginia Tech (RPI No. 57) is 0-6 against teams in the RPI top 50 and played a relatively easy ACC schedule, facing the league’s other top four teams (UNC, Duke, Clemson and Miami) just one time apiece.

Also notable is the fact that the Hokies have road losses to Penn State, Old Dominion and Richmond in their past.

Given all that, Virginia Tech might have to reach the ACC championship game to gain an at-large berth for the NCAA Tournament. But Hokies coach Seth Greenberg will leave all the guessing to others.

“All we’re trying to do is get better,” Greenberg said. “If we spend an ounce of energy worrying about where we’re getting picked or what someone thinks about in the game, out of the game, on the bubble, off the bubble — you can’t spend time worrying about those things.

“You can only spend time worrying about the things you have control over, and that’s trying to get better. Why waste time on that other stuff?”

ACColades

With the regular season completed, here’s a look back at the year that was in the conference.

Best team: North Carolina

The Tar Heels’ record and No. 1 national ranking are impressive, but even more impressive is how they got there. UNC kept winning despite significant injuries to point guards Ty Lawson and Bobby Frasor, showing the kind of depth and resilience that can come in handy in March.

Worst team: Boston College

After losing three of its top four scorers from last season, the Eagles were left with Tyrese Rice and not much else in terms of proven talent. The good news for BC coach Al Skinner is that his only seniors are Tyrelle Blair and John Oates, so his team will have a chance to improve as long as Rice sticks around for his senior year.

Most surprising team: Virginia Tech

The Hokies said goodbye to a trio of 1,000-point scorers in Jamon Gordon, Zabian Dowdell and Coleman Collins, and the team entered this season with no experience in the backcourt. Not exactly a recipe for success. But Virginia Tech got big seasons from upperclassmen A.D. Vassallo and Deron Washington, and its young players held up nicely during the grind of their first ACC season. So the Hokies, picked to finish 10th during the preseason, wound up in fourth place and earned a bye in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

Most surprising player: Greg Paulus, Duke

Paulus is on the short list of players whom opposing fans love to hate, but he earned some respect — if not cheers — around the ACC this season. Paulus, who struggled with an injured foot all of last season, showed just how good he can be when healthy. He made open shots on the perimeter, ran Duke’s offense the way Mike Krzyzewski wanted, improved his ball handling and wasn’t nearly as much of a liability on defense as he was a year ago.

Most disappointing team: N.C. State

It’s not often that a team picked to finish third in the conference ends up in last place, but that’s how it went for the Wolfpack (15-15, 4-12) this season. N.C. State suffered a huge setback when starting point guard Farnold Degand was lost for the season in December with a knee injury, and the team’s returning nucleus of Brandon Costner, Courtney Fells, Gavin Grant and Ben McCauley never appeared comfortable playing second fiddle to freshman star J.J. Hickson.

Most disappointing player: Brandon Costner, N.C. State

Costner was a preseason selection on the All-ACC first team, but he struggled much of the season as the Wolfpack featured Hickson down low. Costner’s production dropped from team-best averages of 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per game last season to 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game this season. Even more disturbing, Costner came up with just seven steals in 731 total minutes this season. He shot just 36.6 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from 3-point range as a sophomore after shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 37.9 percent on 3-pointers in 2006-07.

All-ACC — First team

Tyler Hansbrough, Jr., North Carolina: He led the ACC in scoring (23.1 points per game), rebounding (10.5 per game) and double-doubles (16), carrying the Tar Heels during Ty Lawson’s absence.

Jack McClinton, Jr., Miami: He finished fifth in the conference in scoring (17.4 points per game) and led the league in free throw percentage (.900), 3-point accuracy (.442) and 3-pointers made (3.0 per game).

DeMarcus Nelson, Sr., Duke: He was Duke’s leader and most consistent player throughout the season, averaging a career-high 15.2 points per game while playing his typically tough defense.

Tyrese Rice, Jr., Boston College: He delivered the league’s top scoring performance this season, a 46-point barrage against North Carolina, and finished second in the league in scoring (21.3 points per game) and fourth in assists (5.1 per game).

Sean Singletary, Sr., Virginia: He didn’t have much help around him, but he still finished in the ACC’s top five in scoring (19.9 points per game), assists (5.9 per game) and free throw percentage (.856).

Second team

Wayne Ellington, So., North Carolina: The owner of the ACC’s smoothest shooting stroke became more of a threat off the dribble this season, averaging 16.4 points per game while making 40.9 percent of his 3-point attempts.

James Gist, Sr., Maryland: He faded down the stretch as the Terrapins lost four of their last five games, but he was ninth in the ACC in scoring (15.7 points per game) and among the league’s top five in rebounding (7.9), field-goal percentage (.494) and blocked shots (2.2).

Cliff Hammonds, Sr., Clemson: Hammonds is tough — he continues to play despite a broken right hand — and productive. He averaged 11.7 points per game while finishing second in the league in assist-turnover ratio (2.3-to-1) and third in steals (1.9 per game).

K.C. Rivers, Jr., Clemson: One of the ACC’s most versatile players, he ranked 12th in the league in scoring (14.5 points) and rebounding (6.5), finished eighth in steals (1.8), made 40.7 percent of his 3-point attempts and posted an assist-turnover ratio of 1.7-to-1.

Greivis Vasquez, So., Maryland: Vasquez’s turnover numbers (4.5 per game) are downright scary, but his all-around contributions (17.5 points, league-leading 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds per game) make him the Terrapins’ most valuable player.

Third team

Toney Douglas, Jr., Florida State: With injuries depleting his team’s frontcourt, Douglas delivered the most productive season of his career. He ranked eighth in the ACC in scoring (15.8 points per game), including 18.1 points per game in conference games, and led the league in steals (2.8 per game) by a large margin.

Danny Green, Jr., North Carolina: One of the most underrated players in the country, he averaged 12.0 points in just 22.5 minutes per game off the bench. At 6-6, Green was UNC’s No. 2 rebounder (5.4 per game) and shot blocker (1.3 per game) in addition to making 38.6 percent of his 3-pointers and 85.7 percent of his free throws.

Greg Paulus, Jr., Duke: Paulus might have been the ACC’s most improved player. He averaged 11.0 points per game, made 42.9 percent of his 3-point attempts and improved his assist-turnover ratio from 1.2-to-1 as a sophomore to 2.2-to-1.

Kyle Singler, Fr., Duke: His scoring (14.2 points per game) and rebounding (6.1 per game) fall short of the numbers posted by fellow freshmen J.J. Hickson and James Johnson, but Singler’s long-range shooting and playmaking ability were key factors in Duke’s resurgence this season.

A.D. Vassallo, Jr., Virginia Tech: He finished sixth in the league in scoring (16.6 points per game), improving his scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage during conference play.

Player of the year: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

Freshman of the year: Kyle Singler, Duke

Sixth man of the year: Danny Green, North Carolina

Coach of the year: Frank Haith, Miami

All-defense

D’Andre Bell, Georgia Tech
Tyrelle Blair, Boston College
Toney Douglas, Florida State
Marcus Ginyard, North Carolina
DeMarcus Nelson, Duke

All-flop (falling down on offense or defense to draw foul calls)

Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
Greg Paulus, Duke
Jon Scheyer, Duke
Lance Thomas, Duke
Deron Washington, Virginia Tech

All-freshman

Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech
J.J. Hickson, N.C. State
James Johnson, Wake Forest
Kyle Singler, Duke
Jeff Teague, Wake Forest

All-underrated

Brian Asbury, Miami
Danny Green, North Carolina
Cliff Hammonds, Clemson
Jason Rich, Florida State
Rakim Sanders, Boston College

All-disappointments

Brandon Costner, N.C. State
Mamadi Diane, Virginia
Ben McCauley, N.C. State
John Oates, Boston College
Ryan Reid, Florida State

All-bench

Matt Causey, Georgia Tech
Danny Green, North Carolina
Terrence Oglesby, Clemson
Zack Peacock, Georgia Tech
Jon Scheyer, Duke

All-shooters

Wayne Ellington, North Carolina
Jack McClinton, Miami
Anthony Morrow, Georgia Tech
Terrence Oglesby, Clemson
Isaiah Swann, Florida State

All-Shaq (bad free throws)

Ryan Pettinella, Virginia: 24.0 percent
Ishmael Smith, Wake Forest: 30.2 percent
Alex Stepheson, North Carolina: 42.9 percent
Cliff Hammonds, Clemson: 43.6 percent
Rakim Sanders, Boston College: 45.9 percent

All-instigator

Chas McFarland, Wake Forest
Laurynas Mikalauskas, Virginia
Greg Paulus, Duke
Ryan Reid, Florida State
Deron Washington, Virginia Tech

ACC Tournament picks

The ACC regular season was full of surprises, so there’s no way of knowing what’s going to happen in the tournament. That said, here’s a guess at what might unfold this week at Charlotte Bobcats Arena:

Thursday’s first round
(8) Wake Forest over (9) Florida State, noon ET
(5) Miami over (12) N.C. State, 2:30 p.m. ET
(10) Virginia over (7) Georgia Tech, 7 p.m. ET
(6) Maryland over (11) Boston College, 9:30 p.m. ET

Friday’s quarterfinals
(1) North Carolina over (8) Wake Forest, noon ET
(5) Miami over (4) Virginia Tech, 2:30 p.m. ET
(2) Duke over (10) Virginia, 7 p.m. ET
(3) Clemson over (6) Maryland, 9:30 p.m. ET

Saturday’s semifinals
(1) North Carolina over (5) Miami, 1:30 p.m. ET
(3) Clemson over (2) Duke, 4 p.m. ET

Sunday’s final
(1) North Carolina over (3) Clemson, 1 p.m. ET

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