We knew the ACC might have have a rough NCAA tournament. The conference is down this year, and there was the possibility it could get downright ugly.
The opening day of the NCAA tournament did nothing to alleviate those concerns.
Virginia Tech led Florida for much of the game only to fade down the stretch in a loss to the Gators and bow out in OT. No Jalen Cone, and with Keve Aluma being a non-factor the Hokies just ran out of gas.
Georgia Tech had to face a Loyola-Chicago team without ACC POY Moses Wright. It showed as Georgia Tech was effectively a no show on the glass. You’re not going to win a lot of games when you get beat on the boards.
Maybe North Carolina would have better luck against Wisconsin? Nope – North Carolina missed a whopping 40 shots and got destroyed by the Badgers. UNC could only go as far as their guards could take them. They needed to play well and they didn’t. In a day of of bad performances by the ACC, the Heels were as bad as it gets.
Certainly Clemson playing a gift of a 10 seed in Rutgers could take advantage. While the Tar Heels played the worst of any ACC team, the Tigers had the most frustrating performance. Clemson didn’t lose because they ran out of gas like the Hokies. They weren’t missing one of their best players like Georgia Tech. They didn’t draw a tricky matchup like UNC. The Tigers lost because they played the majority of the second half in a fog. Clemson kept losing 50/50 balls because they didn’t match Rutgers energy level. That’s unacceptable in the NCAA tournament. The Tiger promising season ended with a thud as they lost 3 of their last 4.
Then there was the Syracuse Orange. Syracuse barely made it into the NCAA tournament, and were matched up with a physical San Diego State Aztec team.
The Orange rolled. Buddy Boheim scored 30 points in a 78-62 win, that wasn’t that close. Syracuse has been here before. Lowly seeded, but gets hot at the right time. Syracuse shot a stellar 56% from 3.
If they shoot like that, they can beat a lot of teams in the NCAA tournament. Syracuse was the one ACC team, that brought it on both ends of the floor.
Saturday the ACC has Virginia and Florida State going as 4 seeds. Virginia you have to be concerned about with their lack of practice going up against Ohio. Florida State the ACC team with the highest ceiling gets a tough UNC-Greensboro team. If the Noles turn it over like they did against Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship, they could have real issues.
The ACC could use a good day by the Hoos and Noles tomorrow.
