Yesterday I said the ACC needed to put a team in the Final 4 this year. Well the only way to do that is get past the round of 64. The ACC came through with flying colors, if not exceptional play. All of the ACC’s NCAA participants passed their first round tests – UNC, Duke, Louisville, Virginia, Notre Dame, and NC State have advanced to the NCAA’s 3rd round. Now the ACC was favored in all 6 games, but when two 3 seeds from the Big 12 go down you know that no game should be taken for granted.
#ACCpic.twitter.com/ITOiO6sZZW
— Ben Swain (@TheBenSwain) March 21, 2015
The ACC along with the Pac 12 are the only undefeated Power 5 conference teams in this year’s NCAAs. That’s a great start. What’s even more impressive is that I don’t think any ACC team played probably save Duke played all that well. To continue to have success in this tournament the ACC teams will need to play better. That said the object is to survive and advance.
While post-season results can often over exaggerate a conference’s relative strength or weakness, we can’t act like the results don’t matter.
Saturday the ACC have these games…
UNC vs Arkansas 8:40 PM
I like UNC here. I don’t find Arkansas to be that skilled of a team. They are athletic, and Bobby Portis was the SEC’s best non-Kentucky player, but UNC should have advantage inside. If the Heels don’t turn the ball they should and move on the Sweet 16. Remember Arkansas lost to Clemson earlier this year.
Notre Dame vs Butler 9:40 PM
Butler is an extremely well coached, but they haven’t seen a team that is as good offensively as Notre Dame. Notre Dame sometimes struggles against bigger teams due to their lack of size. I don’t believe Butler can exploit that. I expect the Irish to move on.
Villanova vs NC State 7:10 PM
Make no mistake NC State can beat Villanova, but what Wolfpack shows up? I don’t like how NC State has played on the defensive end of their last two games against Duke or LSU. Villanova doesn’t have lot of size. NC State can have some success inside. If NC State brings their A game, they can play and defeat Villanova. If the NC State of the last 2 games shows up, then it will be a 10 point loss. I’d like to call the upset, but I’m not brave enough. NC State will play better than recent games, but it won’t be quite enough.
The top of the ACC for the most of the year was considered the best in college basketball, and it was a very positive start to the tournament for a conference that is trying to re-establish as the country’s premier basketball conference.
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