On the Record: ACC Tournament

General NCS Basketball On the Record32

I guess with the NEW ACC and Tournament format, today’s full slate of games represents a “first round” and Friday’s sessions will now be referred to as “Quarterfinals” &/or “2nd round”. (I think “Quarterfinals” will be most appropriate to avoid confusion with rounds from historical tournament results).

So…with the Tournament underway…I thought that we could open an entry for you to go on record on what your predictions are for this year’s event. (See NC State ACC Tournament Notebook)

On the Record
You are going to think that I am crazy…but, I truly believe that the time is RIPE for NC State to sneak through and claim our first Atlantic Coast Conference Championship since 1987.

I know. I know. I sound nuts. And….”YES”….I HAVE been watching this team over the last couple of weeks.

But, the slate is now clean and the Wolfpack is as experienced as anyone in the league. Moreover, the Pack is experienced with seniors at three key positions – two in the all important backcourt. Additionally, Cameron Bennerman has proven to be an absolute stud in his previous ACC Tournaments. With Cedric Simmons’ presence in the paint, State has an option for high percentage points in crunch time that we haven’t had in past years.

With ^this said…why NOT NC State?

Duke has been struggling. Carolina, despite their success, is still young and draws a very difficult match-up (for them) in the semi-finals. And Boston College is the new kid on the block who should at least be slightly impacted by playing in their first ACC Tournament.

As crazy as it may sounds, I am as concerned about NC State’s potential match-up with Florida State on Friday as I am any of the other projected opponents the Pack could face through the weekend. The Seminoles are the type of athletic team that give State fits. Additionally, they laid a royal egg in Raleigh a few weeks ago in a horribly officiated game and on a night that State played one of our best games of the year. Shake all of that up and I fear that you have a recipe for an early struggle for the Pack.

So, I am going to allow my red-colored glasses to shade my opinion and go on a limb to predict a Wolfpack win over Boston College on Sunday. To continue my prediction for the rest of the year — State will continue on to lose in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament and Herb Sendek will FINALLY choose to eject himself from a position that he just doesn’t understand, choosing the safety and comfort a new guaranteed contract somewhere that doesn’t ‘expect’ to succeed on the same level as NC State’s history. At that point, the wild card of Lee Fowler’s ‘leadership’ takes over and I hesitate to predict anything on something that I admittedly cannot understand in the slightest bit.

Back to the ACC Tournament – outside of my homer prediction, the following is my projected order of likelihood of who will win this weekend’s event in Greensboro:
(1) Duke
(2) Boston College
(3) NC State
(4) North Carolina

Link to brackets here.

General NCS Basketball On the Record

32 Responses to On the Record: ACC Tournament

  1. Trout 03/09/2006 at 2:01 PM #

    So any speculation on where that “somewhere” might be?

    I agree, FSU scares me. I think FSU played their worst game of the season against us in Raleigh. I was at the game, and Hamilton let it slip away in the last 3 minutes of the first half.

    Having said that, I think NC State beats FSU/Wake, then loses to Duke. UNC beats BC. Duke beats UNC for the title.

  2. Jeff 03/09/2006 at 2:09 PM #

    ^ A friend of mine think Rutgers is a great fit. I tend to agree. 🙂

  3. WTNY 03/09/2006 at 2:13 PM #

    I’ve got:

    Miami over CU (I got one right already!)
    Wake over FSU
    UVa over VT
    MD over GT

    Duke over UM
    Wake over State
    UNC-Ch over UVa
    BC over MD

    Duke over Wake
    BC over UNC-Ch

    BC over Duke for a title in their first year

  4. WTNY 03/09/2006 at 2:17 PM #

    As for NC State winning an ACCT for the first time since … forever:

    A first round matchup for which Sendek has less than a day to truly prepare will negate his “preparation advantage” IMO

    The Pack’s injuries combined with little depth will also make it hard to win 3 in 3 days.

    Perhaps it’s my NCState protection mechanism kicking in but I just don’t see it.

    I’d LOVE it but I just don’t see it.

  5. Jeff 03/09/2006 at 2:19 PM #

    ^ But think about the beautiful part of how nobody can accuse me of being “negative” about the team!

  6. WTNY 03/09/2006 at 2:20 PM #

    And here are interesting probabilities for the ACC (and Big East) tourneys from KenPom.com: http://kenpom.com/blog/index.php/weblog/new_vs_old_rpi/

  7. WTNY 03/09/2006 at 2:21 PM #

    ^^ True, although you’ll get accused of something!

  8. TVP 03/09/2006 at 2:38 PM #

    Damn I hope that comes true. I’d gladly take a second round exit if we also got the ACC title.

  9. Wolfpack Willie 03/09/2006 at 3:10 PM #

    Jeff:
    If Herb did take another job, who would you realistically think would be a good candidate to replace him? I’m thinking maybe John Calipari?

  10. Jeff 03/09/2006 at 3:41 PM #

    Willie…based on what I KNOW to be true about PAST interest of certain coaches in the country (for our job and for other recent openings around the country)…I believe that the NC State administration has NO CHOICE but to immediately give Rick Barnes and John Calipari the chance to turn the job down.

    I love Cal. I have loved Cal for over 10 years. But, I think that Barnes is more of a natural fit because of his local ties and history in the ACC. I also think that some of the clouds around Cal’s history (whether it is fair or not) makes Barnes the first candidate and Cal the second.

    It is just that simple. The “interview” process should be very limited as both of the coaches have earned the respect and the honor of not having to be interviewed for a job. You have to insure that priorities, focus, and the way that business gets done are consistent with the way NC State wants to do business…but, you don’t need to run the risk of offending such successful coaches with a full blown “interview”. (like Baddour and Larry Brown…and like Todd Turner’s mistake 10 years ago when Barnes wanted the job while he was at Clemson).

    After that, the list will probably get quite diverse. However…I don’t think that – IF DONE CORRECTLY – it will matter after those two names.

    Last note: I IMPLORE our readers not to take this thread in a completely differnent direction. Let’s hear your thoughts on the tournament, please.

  11. TampaPack 03/09/2006 at 3:47 PM #

    Why not stick with the Pack? Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but why not, we can get hot and play with anyone again. Pack over FSU, then Duke, then an epic battle with the Heels where Herb gets one on Roy. Go PACK (please, please, please)…

  12. TampaPack 03/09/2006 at 3:52 PM #

    Now for the big dance, I think the heels have a good as shot as anyone, of course depending on the draws (damn, I really hate to say that). Pack to the Sweet 16, maybe the Elite 8 if they find/keep the shooting touch…

  13. Clarksa 03/09/2006 at 3:56 PM #

    I wouldn’t be suprised if we won the tournament, and I wouldn’t be suprised if we lost to either Wake or FSU tomorrow. My PackPride prediction was a third loss to UNC-CH this year in the finals…

  14. TampaPack 03/09/2006 at 4:31 PM #

    Hope our guys vividly recall the beat down Wake gave us the other day. Looks like we will have a chance for revenge.

  15. Fish 03/09/2006 at 5:07 PM #

    Jeff,

    You have been drinking that Tarboro moonshine. Wake is going to crush us.

    My prediction for tomorrow–13 field goals out of 62 attempts. Point total of 42. Wake erupts for 84 only to get clobbered by Duke in the semis.

  16. Elrod 03/09/2006 at 5:27 PM #

    At this point, I do not think it is wise to spend much time looking past Friday’s WF matchup. I believe the game will boil down to one very simple thing: IF, and I say IF, we get an active drive-to-the-hole offensive pattern going that results in not just scoring opportunities, but more importantly, fouls on Eric Williams, then we will be OK. If EW plays >30 minutes, we are in deep do-do. The more he sits down the better off we will be. Right now, Ced just can’t compete with him.

    Assuming we get by WF, I give us an even chance at Dook. If we get past WF, it will be a good emotional lift and should free us up to play with some confidence.

    If by good fortune we were to make the final, I do not see us beating BBU. However, I believe we would have a good chance against BC.

  17. formrwolffan 03/09/2006 at 5:30 PM #

    3 teams starting with Wake are going to have to play REALLY awful for your prediction to come thru based on the way State played down the stretch. Hopefully Wake used it up today, but they scare me because they SHOULDN’T have been as bad as they were this year.
    The damn Tarheels scare me more than anyone in this tournament. They are young, but nobody can say they don’t have talent (as usual)
    Think you are drunk or crazy, but hope you are a genius.

  18. Jeff 03/09/2006 at 5:31 PM #

    Elrod, nobody here is on the team. I think that we are safe to play the what-if games that fans play. We aren’t going to hurt anybody.

  19. Sammy Kent 03/09/2006 at 6:48 PM #

    On the record, I’ve missed the first two already. I had picked Clemson and FSU. I’ll take UVa and Maryland tonight, then Dook, State, Carolina, and Maryland tomorrow. State and Carolina for the championship. With my heart I say NC State. With my head I say Carolina. (Actually, with my head I say Wake Forest tomorrow.)

  20. WolfInVolCountry 03/09/2006 at 6:58 PM #

    I am gonna say that we beat Wake, just for pride’s sake. (Boy, did FSU screw themselves out of the Big Dance.) Duke advances to play us. We came close in our last meeting and Reddick was on top of his game. We might have an openning, but I am still pessimistic. So if, if, if…. and we make it to see the Heels on Sunday, I think we get rolled for a 3rd time, and are ripe then for the Upset Special Pick in Vegas next week. Doesn’t matter how you slice it, Sendeck stays.

    So Admin, copy all of these articles and comments and paste them here same time next year. We will all still be wearing sack cloth and ashes, bemoaning our fate of another year losing to Chapel Hill and Durham.

  21. Kingfish 03/09/2006 at 7:43 PM #

    My prediction is Wake 88 and Pack 61.

    Zendick and Fowler get ready for Nascar and Mike O’Cain is seen jacking off Zendick since those two resemble one another.

  22. Elrod 03/09/2006 at 11:19 PM #

    Fine, Jeff. You want my downhome and personal what-if? Here it is.

    We don’t have time to shake the rust from injury absences and the mental baggage of a 3-game losing streak. Plus, WF is coming off their pasting of us and a good FSU win, so their confidence is as high as it’s been all year. WF by double digits (84 – 71). Dook manhandles WF (91 – 75). BBU wins big (95 – 71, why not?), while BC wins comfortably (81 – 69). BBU beats BC in an entertaining affair (87 – 79). BBU beats Dook with a late spurt (90 – 81).

    We go into the NCAAT as a 7-seed, somewhere in the midwest. We squeeze out an ugly win (58 – 53) over a directional school from a state I’ve never been to. We get to play the bracket’s 2-seed, maybe from the Big-10, where we get muscled right out of the gym by (75 – 60). Herb and Lee declare the season a major success and head off to Bojangles to celebrate their latest gambit, while the fans become the feeding ground for the inevitable media frenzy over our supposed hatred for Herb. And, of course, we’ll cooperate with them all.

    Hey, I don’t hate Herb. I just think we aren’t as close to ‘arriving’ as some would have us believe. The progress has been slow, maybe too slow given the available tools. I don’t believe it’s a Herb issue; I believe it’s a Lee issue with the immeasurable standards. No one can be held accountable for a moving or vague target. And all we are left with are dreams.

  23. Jeff 03/10/2006 at 7:15 AM #

    ^ Couldn’t really agree more.

  24. Jeff 03/10/2006 at 7:17 AM #

    “Announcer 1: If State doesn’t win today. I give up.

    Announcer 2: I rarely feel good about a State game.

    Announcer 3: How about never!”

    WFNZ Radio
    Charlotte
    Morning of March 10, 2006

  25. VaWolf82 03/10/2006 at 8:24 AM #

    The progress has been slow,

    Using the standard Herb rules of ignoring everything before the 2002 season, what progress do you think that State and Herb have made since then?

1 2

Leave a Reply