The Florida State Seminoles were originally supposed to play the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, Feb. 20, but the game was postponed and the ACC schedule reorganized. This leads to a problem for the conference with time in short supply before the ACC Tournament in the second weekend of March.
Lots of games are in jeopardy of not being played, but if there’s one — and only one — regular-season game which needs to be made up, this is not a hard or close call: Florida State-Virginia Tech.
Let’s briefly explain why: Florida State has played Virginia. Virginia Tech has played Virginia. Florida State and Virginia Tech have not played each other. The Seminoles, Cavaliers and Hokies own the top three spots in the ACC standings by multiple games. The fourth-place team after Saturday’s action is North Carolina, at 8-5. Louisville is 6-4. The Cardinals have fewer losses but have played fewer ACC games than the competition. UNC has five conference losses but leads Louisville by half a game for fourth.
If it’s relatively clear that Virginia Tech and Florida State will get top-four seeds for the ACC Tournament, there is a way to have the Hokies and Seminoles play so that two of the top teams in the league get to face each other as part of the regular season, without jeopardizing the competitive integrity of the ACC Tournament.
Before going forward, let’s be clear: If Virginia Tech loses to Georgia Tech this week and slips toward the No. 5 spot in the ACC, this plan probably can’t come to fruition. However, if the Hokies win their next two games and solidify their grip on a top-four ACC Tournament seed, there’s a way to have them play Florida State.
Saturday, March 6 is the last scheduled day of the ACC regular season. Teams with a top-four seed in the ACC Tournament won’t play a game in Greensboro, N.C., until the following Thursday, due to having a double bye into the quarterfinals. Therefore, if it’s clear that Virginia Tech will gain a top-four seed — something we will have to wait at least a week, maybe 11 days, to find out — a solution would present itself for the Noles and Hokies.
Have Florida State and Virginia Tech fly into Greensboro Sunday night. Have them play a Monday game to finish the regular season. Two top ACC teams get to play a game. This is fair to them and also to Virginia, which should get to have its two competitors play at least once.
After FSU and Virginia Tech meet, the full tournament bracket can be set. FSU and Virginia Tech get two full days of rest before their Thursday quarterfinals.
Is that an unreasonable plan? I don’t think so.
However, FSU and VT fans might reasonably claim that playing a Monday game could leave the two teams in a compromised position for the three-game tournament (Thursday through Saturday).
An alternative solution, then: Florida State is scheduled to play Notre Dame on March 6, while Virginia Tech is scheduled to face North Carolina State. Neither Notre Dame nor N.C. State have any chance of making the NCAA Tournament. So, just redo the schedule and have the Seminoles and Hokies meet on March 6.
Florida State-Virginia Tech needs to happen. There are two fundamental ways to make it so. Let’s see if the ACC can get this done.
