Follow-Up on ACC vs PAC-10

06-07 Basketball General20

We’ve been engaged in the conversation for quite a bit now, so you need to click on the following links to catch-up:

* Earlier in the month, we opened the can of worms by highlighting a Jeff Goodman article and running this entry.

* After Carolina’s pasting of Arizona this weekend we asked to hear more about the great Pac-10.

Today, The Wilmington Star‘s Andrew Jones has taken the idea and added more statistical data to the conversation. This link will take you to his great work that is prefaced with the following comments:

I’ve had a few of these discussions, and while I’ve felt the Pac-10 was the best conference, North Carolina’s 28-point win at Arizona was a major statement for the Tar Heels and the ACC. Now I am thinking more seriously that the ACC is the better conference. If the NCAA tournament bids were extended today, it’s likely the ACC would get nine bids and the Pac-10 at least six and maybe seven.

I think that what Andrew and others are starting to realize is the level of quality depth that the ACC contains compared to all other conferences. Now that Georgia Tech seems relegated to the bottom quarter of the league, you still have EIGHT ACC teams legitimately looking at a shot at an NCAA Tournament bid; and GT isn’t necessarily dead yet as they are still hanging around the Top 50 area of the RPI. (Relevant link to ACCNow’s summary of ACC RPI’s)

At the bottom of the leagues, you have three ACC teams that are still generally Top 150 RPI teams. The lowest rated ACC team is Miami at #170. However, the Pac-10 has TWO teams with RPI’s below the ACC’s worst rated team. (Oregon State #184 and Arizona State #232). So, each Pac-10 gets a sure 4 wins vs these lowly programs while the ACC’s imbalanced schedule (against tougher opponents at the bottom of the league) create a very different conference experience.

In short:

* At the top of the leagues, the ACC is as strong as the Pac-10.

* In the middle of the leagues, the ACC is definitely stronger than the Pac-10.

* At the bottom of the leagues, the ACC is definitely stronger than the Pac-10.

Where is the argument?

Ultimately, fans and media across the nation engage in this debate every year. The REAL BEAUTY of Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball is that every year the debate is centered around a different conference challenging the ACC’s supremecy. Sure there will be an individual season where another conference may truly be ‘better’. The problem is no single conference other than the ACC is ever the standard by which all others are judged.

Who is consistently ‘the best’? ^There is your answer.

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06-07 Basketball General

20 Responses to Follow-Up on ACC vs PAC-10

  1. class of 74 01/31/2007 at 11:48 AM #

    Meet the new boss, same as the old boss! At least for the past 50 years.

  2. lush 01/31/2007 at 12:32 PM #

    off topic but how the hell is brandon costner not the rookie of the year when he is leading all freshman in scoring 16.7ppg and rebounds 7.8 rpg?

  3. wolfonthehill 01/31/2007 at 12:39 PM #

    ^ I wouldn’t vote for Costner myself. The kid has disappeared or played like he has ADD for much of the past month or so… exactly as our team took a serious nosedive.

    From what I’ve seen this year, Brandan Wright is the clear ROY. I haven’t seen anyone else similarly dominant.

  4. lush 01/31/2007 at 1:01 PM #

    that may be true but the numbers dont lie. should you base ROY on perceived ability or actual results?

  5. TNCSU 01/31/2007 at 1:27 PM #

    Okay, I’ll try this post again – Costner is really a Freshman in eligibility only. No fault of his own, but I think this fact will influence voters. I think Wright, Lawson, Scheyer all have legitimate shots.

  6. TNCSU 01/31/2007 at 1:36 PM #

    Pack Pride takes a closer look at tomorrow’s opponent — tip-off is at 9:00 p.m and the game will be televised on RSN.

    Does anyone know what local channel corresponds to RSN?

    Thanks!

  7. C Dog 01/31/2007 at 1:45 PM #

    ACC Rookie of the Year should be based on performance in ACC games. That way, all players can be evaluated based on their performance against common opponents.

  8. Redblogger 01/31/2007 at 1:48 PM #

    Good entry as always!

    Any news on tonights game? Has anyone heard what the starting lineup is going to be?

    GG on the bench again?

  9. blpack 01/31/2007 at 2:03 PM #

    The PAC 10 has a few good teams, but their bottom is really low.
    I would add if UA plays like it did last weekend much more, they will join UConn in the NIT.
    B Wright will probably get ROY before he moves on the NBA.

  10. kool k 01/31/2007 at 2:06 PM #

    RSN usually translates as Fox Sports South, channel 50 on TWC in Raleigh

  11. DaPackster 01/31/2007 at 2:07 PM #

    Lawson is the rookie of the year. It shouldn’t be close. A freshmen playing point guard on one of the top 2-3 teams in the country. His assist/turnover ratio is outstanding. A freshmen starting as a point guard on an elite team is like a freshmen being a starting quarterback. It’s rare to see and much less to see them playing very well. Wright is outstanding, but Lawson runs the team. Scheyer is having a great year also. Costner has had a very good year, but he goes awol sometimes. Costner’s number are inflated because we only had Astur and Grant returning.

  12. Redblogger 01/31/2007 at 2:15 PM #

    “Costner’s number are inflated because we only had Astur and Grant returning.”

    His playing time is inflated because we only had Astur and Grant returning, his numbers are real.

  13. VaWolf82 01/31/2007 at 2:17 PM #

    Currently the Pac-10 ranks third in conference RPI…behind both the ACC and SEC. The SEC has all 12 teams ranked in the top 100 of the RPI.

    In 2004, the ACC had six teams in the RPI top 20 and all nine in the top-90.

    Now back to whining about ROY candidates.

  14. DaPackster 01/31/2007 at 2:20 PM #

    Don’t take it personal Redblogger. Do you think he would be scoring 16 a game and 7 boards if Simmons and Brackman were playing.

  15. Redblogger 01/31/2007 at 2:31 PM #

    Of course he wouldn’t, he got lucky in having all the PT, but he has earned those numbers.

  16. Wulfpack 01/31/2007 at 2:45 PM #

    Costner clearly ought to be in the mix for ROY. However, the same can be said for Scheyer, Wright and Lawson. I’d even go so far as to say GT’s Crittenton should be considered as well, but his play of late seems to have dipped. I guess if Costner is going to go after this award he’s going to have every chance to prove it against Wright and Lawson on two occasions.

  17. nycfan 01/31/2007 at 3:27 PM #

    I posted in the original topic about the PAC-10 v. the ACC that, purely subjectively based merely on watching games, the PAC-10 seemed to me to be the better conference this year. Even after the utter destruction of the Cats by UNC, I still feel that way, albeit not as strongly. I think the bottom line is that after you toss out the bottom two, there are 8 strong teams that have engaged in some really memorable, fun match-ups this season. I don think that the quality of games tends to have probably too strong an influence on my impression of the two conferences, but there have been a lot of BORING games in the ACC this season. If Georgia Tech, Wake or Miami are involved, the games can be almost unwatchable, and after a nice start, State is becoming the same way. FSU is close to that category as well.

    I do hate the unbalanced schedule in the ACC, btw, I know it is a necessity in a 12-team league, but it does muck things up.

    I do not agree that the ACC would get 8 or 9 teams in if the NCAA selection were held today, btw. UNC, Dook, VPI, BC, FSU check. UVa should, based on their conference record, but their RPI is not in the 30s comfort zone. Clemson would probably be a shoo-in today, but their recent slippage makes me nervous about their end-of-season prospects. I think Maryland and Ga Tech would be out right now. That is still 5 nearly certain and up to 7 likely, so hardly anything to criticize. But I think that by selection time that number may be 6. We’ll have to see how things shake out.

  18. VaWolf82 01/31/2007 at 4:08 PM #

    I don’t think that the ACC will ever get nine teams once you include the ACCT. It seems somewhere between unlikely and impossible for the loser of the 8/9 game on Thursday to get an at-large bid.

  19. pac10ticketman 02/01/2007 at 7:29 PM #

    I think that ACC is a great conference. The Pac 10 is just as good, if not better. You can’t use a single game to compare conferences. Every team can have a bad day and come back and be champions the next. If anything you can use history as a base for your argument(coach wooden). But comparing teams in the ACC to Pac 10 teams this year and saying the ACC is better all the time is ridiculous. It’s like saying the AFC is better than the NFC in football because the AFC team records are better. How do you explain this after the Bears win the Super Bowl this year.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. StateFans Nation » Blog Archive » ACC BBall Bytes - 02/14/2007

    […] So, the powerful UCLA Bruins dominate the Pac 10 and then lose in a non-conference match-up vs West Virginia. LOL! We have obviously discussed the ACC vs Pac 10 issue multiple times this year and you can get to most of the conversation through this entry. Most recently, kenpom added to the analysis with this entry. […]

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