2015 ACC Tournament Preview

Firstly, a hearty congratulations to SFN favorite Beejay “King Hippo” Anya on being named the ACC’s Sixth Man of the Year, and First Team all-defense. Not bad for a guy who doesn’t play 20 mpg, right? Quality, not quantity. And the jolly giant sure as hell changes the game when he enters.

Secondly, kudos to Trevor “No Nickname” Lacey for pulling in Second Team all-ACC honors for his solid all-around game. He can be maddening at times, but let’s be honest – that’s only because he’s so immensely talented and we’ve seen him carry us on his back.

A pox on the media for not putting Cat Barber on the Third Team, nor rightly naming him DPOY. It’s clear they didn’t watch all of our games, and just read stat lines. A damned shame.

Anyhoo – the preview! Forward, Glorious Red Army!

1. Virginia

Realistic Chance to Win? Absolutely. With robot-like efficiency, Bennett’s Cavaliers mowed through the league at a 16-2 clip for a second straight year. If they likewise blitz the conference tourney, one would be foolish to clutch one’s pearls.

Toughest Obstacle(s): Duke, boredom. The Devils have been scorching hot ever since coming to life late in Hooville, and when they are hot, the Cavs lack a 5th gear to run with them. I’m not sure anyone else presents a similar challenge to Wahoowa if they are playing with focus and precision. But having already won the ACCT, their “show me” challenge is the NCAAT, and they know it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hold back just a little in anticipation of the weeks to come. One might also note that State bothered them quite a bit in each matchup, and would have won with even marginal shooting performances.

2. Duke

Realistic Chance to Win? Absolutely. Duke beat the Hoos in Hooville, and right now, look like the only team capable of giving Calipari’s bunch a run for their money. Much like their likely Thursday night sparring partner, they are playing their best hoops at the best possible time. Coach K has to be pleased, though he will never admit it.

Toughest Obstacle(s): Depth, health, Thursday. Arguably, State is their toughest matchup in the entire league, and lo and behold…State only has to get past a reeling Pitt team that State beat by 20 (when State was playing horribly) to get to the Devils. Then again, Coach K would presumably like that calculus – win the whole thing, or one and done. Either way, he’s a 1 seed. Cut the nets or get some rest.

3. Notre Dame

Realistic Chance to Win? Some, but I wouldn’t bet on it. I still believe the Irish are a paper tiger. They are too small, too finesse-y, too likely to be run out of the gym by an athletic squad. But if they get hot, they can make a run.

Toughest Obstacle(s): Duke, Miami, State. The bracket did them no favors. Miami will be quite hungry on Thursday, and don’t be surprised to see the Canes pull the so-called upset.

4. Louisville

Realistic Chance to Win? Not really. They can physical their way through a few rounds, but eventually, they have to KFC Failure Pile in a Sadness Bowl (h/t Patton Oswalt) into a few baskets, don’t they? Tired UVA vs. tired Louisville could be some kind of ugly in the semis, although the regular season finale matchup was surprisingly watchable.

Toughest Obstacle(s): UVA. Wahoowa plays a similar style, but generally more effectively. That makes it hard to leverage matchups, and it’s hard to see the FSU/Clemson winner knocking out the Cavs for Pitino’s bunch. Hopefully we at least get to see the Colonel Sanders suit.

5. U*NC

Realistic Chance to Win? I want to say no, but they drew the weak half of the bracket. They will hope State beats Duke, UVA plays unfocused with their eyes on the NCAAT, then who knows? They certainly have SOME talent, even if Roy has been somewhat at a loss as to what to do with it this season.

Toughest Obstacle(s): Inconsistency, effort, ability to handle top teams. Basically, they need help. Even though they are in the half of the bracket where that COULD happen, that’s never a good thing.

6. Miami

Realistic Chance to Win? I will surprise you and say yes. They are officially my dark horse. The Canes have certainly proven themselves capable of handling Duke, and should State upset the Devils on Thursday, would be susceptible to a letdown Friday night. Larranaga is a good tournament coach.

Toughest Obstacle(s): Consistency. Miami has to win 4 games in 4 days, and they are in “pray for Dayton” territory because they have shown nothing close to that level of consistency in 2014-15. But they couldn’t have asked for a better draw, from their standpoint.

7. NC State

Realistic Chance to Win? Yes indeed. I am not certain what to expect, as playing with a gun to one’s temple can really wear a team down. State can come out relaxed, and play great, or drained, and go home “one and done.” But if they do get past Pitt (who may have packed it in, now that they need to win the ACCT), State will certainly be up for the Devils. Then you get to the semifinals, and anything goes. My gut says the State/Duke winner will face UVA in the finals, and be the slight favorite.

Toughest Obstacle(s): Low-post scoring, emotional fatigue, ever present threat of NC State Shit. Plus, you know, playing the second-hottest team in the nation on Thursday night. Not exactly a cakewalk, even if the Pack matches up well. The most important thing is that State won’t play Wake, FSU, or Clemson, thus avoiding the possibility of a late, ugly loss for its resume. Pitt is reeling, but still respectable, meaning State really can’t fall below the 10 line at this point. It’s nice to be able to breathe for a change.

8. Clemson

Realistic Chance to Win? No. Clemson is a bruising, physical team, your proverbial “tough out.” But they also have VERY little skill, and are not long for this tourney world. It’s not like they are going to out-physical UVA, who also has skill/talent.

Toughest Obstacle(s): UVA, offense. Another year in the wilderness for Tigger basketball.

9. Florida State

Realistic Chance to Win? No. See #8 above.

Toughest Obstacle(s): See #8 above. Enjoy the Geneva Convention violation that is this Wednesday mash-up. They should have a tractor pull at halftime.

10. Pitt

Realistic Chance to Win? Nope. This is a slightly upgraded version of Clemson/FSU, but only slightly. They could beat State if State is flat or flighty, but the run ends there. The NIT awaits.

Toughest Obstacle(s): Offense, athleticism. Pitt doesn’t have enough of either, and if State doesn’t easily dispose of them, then Duke surely will.

11. Wake Forest

Realistic Chance to Win? No Chance in hell. Here begins the death march of the Tuesday teams. The dropoff is quite severe. Danny Manning did an excellent job in making his outmanned squad quite competitive at home, but they are still quite outmanned.

Toughest Obstacle(s): Talent, defense. Wake can score ok, but they are a sieve defensively. And they really don’t have the athletes to hang with Miami, let alone anyone in the upper tier in a tourney setting. Making it to Wednesday would be a solid start for the rebuild.

12. Boston College

Realistic Chance to Win? No chance in hell. One really, really good player and lots of flotsam. Hanlan could annoy the hell out of the Holes in a way the Bees certainly would not, so hopefully they make it through Tuesday.

Toughest Obstacle(s): Athleticism, depth. The Eagles are a long way from competitiveness in the ACC, as much as I would like to see them end Roy’s ACCT prematurely.

13. Georgia Tech

Realistic Chance to Win? No chance in hell. Poor Georgia Tech. Saddled with so very many bad contracts. Brian Gregory may be stuck in the ACC basement forever, hanging around in games but never winning them. And they’re probably STILL paying Paul Hewitt. Ouch.

Toughest Obstacle(s): All things basketball-related.

14. Virginia Tech

Realistic Chance to Win? No chance in hell. Buzz Williams shocked everyone by taking the VPI job. Given how badly Marquette sucked this season, maybe he knew he was staying one step ahead. Time will tell if he suckered the castrated turkeys or not. In his inaugural season, he made his talent-challenged bunch plucky. But they bad.

Toughest Obstacle(s): All things basketball-related besides pluck.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

14-15 Basketball ACC Mark Gottfried

Home Forums 2015 ACC Tournament Preview

Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #78422
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    Firstly, a hearty congratulations to SFN favorite Beejay “King Hippo” Anya on being named the ACC’s Sixth Man of the Year, and First Team all-defense.
    [See the full post at: 2015 ACC Tournament Preview]

    #78428
    redisgood
    Participant

    I agree about Cat Barber at least a strong candidate for DPOY, but the ACC and not the press are to blame for this one. For DPOY, the voters were given a drop down menu with just seven names. They had to select from those seven, and there was nowhere for them to write someone else in. It is noteworthy Malcom Brogdon wasn’t on the list of seven either.

    #78429
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    WOW, that would have been my first and second choices.

    #78438
    Wufpacker
    Participant

    13. Georgia Tech, 14. Virginia Tech

    Toughest Obstacle(s): All things basketball-related.

    Hee hee. Ain’t it the truth?
    Agree about VT’s pluck though.

    I’m hopeful that Buzz can’t get any talent to speak of to come to Blacksburg. But, if he does…

    #78439
    MP
    Participant

    Last year was tough on ACCT semifinal Saturday. I’m feeling a run to the Finals. But I can’t help but think of our previous 3-4 runs to the Finals…

    #78448
    JeremyH
    Participant

    maybe we can have Justin Gainey, or Engin Atsur come in and give a peptalk about ACC tournaments. Its so difficult to win these things when you have to play more games than the other teams.

    #78452
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    Good preview!

    Enjoy the Geneva Convention violation that is this Wednesday mash-up. They should have a tractor pull at halftime.

    ^Hahahahalollllllers. Better yet, just have Brownell and Hamilton in a good ol’ fashioned mud wrasslin’ contest to determine the winner. A win for everybody … maybe. Or perhaps just a two hour debate on the finer points of clutch-and-hold basketball, and how it really is good for the game.

    Hope BC gets by Georgia Tech. I think the Eagles could really make a Wed. match-up w/ the Cheats fun to watch and possibly interesting. The Cheats are the worst match-up in the league for poor Georgia Tech, as evidenced by the 4-billion point beatdowns the Jackets received in each Cheat contest.

    #78453
    Texpack
    Participant

    maybe we can have Justin Gainey, or Engin Atsur come in and give a peptalk about ACC tournaments. Its so difficult to win these things when you have to play more games than the other teams.

    I would go with Vinny, Whit, or somebody who actually won one of these. But as for the underdog runs, none had me more pumped than the one led by Clint Cotis Harrison.

    #78470
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    The media picks of a Cheats-Duke tourney final are already rolling in. Could happen, but seems more like wishful ‘BLUES!’ thinking to me.

    Just gonna hand-wave the Cheats inability to beat anyone in the top 25? How ‘meh’ they were down the stretch – and really how ‘meh’ they are? Conveniently forget that UVa owned the Cheats in the Cheat Dome? I mean really, when does reality set in and ‘you are what your record says you are’ take hold for the Cheats? Ohh that’s right, they’re built on fraud – so they’ll just magically make the finals because reasons.

    #78472
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    The media picks of a Cheats-Duke tourney final are already rolling in.

    ^There are at least four other teams who might disagree…

    Virginia
    Notre Dame
    Louisville
    NC State

    plus there will be at least two “WTF” games involving the rest of the league…

    This could be one of the best tournaments in years…
    Nobody, especially the Wolfpack, should take anybody too lightly as there will be NO EASY GAMES.

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #78473
    TheCOWDOG
    Moderator

    We’ll get Beej’s post a bump here, but most likely as not, I’m probably gonna have some empty PBR’s thrown my way.

    I am completely ambivalent about the ACCT for the 1st time in…I don’t know…forever?

    Now,it’s not in a 13OT kinda way. It has nothing to do with the “New ACC,” or Swofford,or the future move to NYC.

    It’s just that the stories have already played out.

    I personally, would like to see State handle biz v. Pitt, but in doing so…it almost forces the Pack to beat Duke to stay off the Mendoza line (9/8.)

    I was kinda thinking that winning one would get us to a 7, and playing a flawless scrimmage, win or lose, would keep us out of the 9/8.

    I don’t really care if we play Friday. Really.

    So…did, I just create a storyline

    #78479
    Alpha Wolf
    Keymaster

    The media picks of a Cheats-Duke tourney final are already rolling in. Could happen, but seems more like wishful ‘BLUES!’ thinking to me.

    I’d say Notre Dame has the easier path to the Finals, and the oddsmakers agree.

    Seed	Team	Odds*
    1	Virginia	+190
    2	Duke	+150
    3	Notre Dame	+650
    4	Louisville	+625
    5	North Carolina	+625
    6	Miami	+3500
    7	NCSU	+3000
    8	Clemson	+20000
    9	Florida State	+30000
    10	Pittsburgh	+15000
    11	Wake Forest	+50000
    12	Boston College	+100000
    13	Georgia Tech	+50000
    14	Virginia Tech	+150000
    #78495
    MP
    Participant

    What is Anderson’s status for UVA?

    #78499
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    Haven’t heard anything official, but my strong presumption is that he’s held out until the NCAAT.

    #78520
    WTNY
    Participant

    TheCOWDOG — I understand where you are coming from. Maximize NCAAT potential.

    However, I want some hardware.

    IMO, an ACC Title > anything less than a Final Four

    We ain’t making the Final Four this year so let’s win the ACC Tourney!

    #78558
    Rick
    Keymaster

    Lacey needs a nickname. I will ponder it.

    The Cat-ney and Lacey moniker never did stick, for good reason.

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