ACC Tournament Preview

By Mike Wynn Sports

The ACC Tournament figures to be a two horse race. Duke and Maryland the regular season co-champs at 13-3 seem to be head and shoulders above the rest of the league and should be on a collision course to meet on Selection Sunday. Lurking in the wings are upset hopefuls Clemson, Florida St, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. So let’s take a look at these teams and some reasons to like or dislike their chances.

Duke Blue Devils are the number 1 seed in the tournament and that bodes well for their chances as the number 1 seed has made the championship game in 14 of the past 19 years. Duke is looking to make the championship game for the eleventh time in 14 seasons and they’ll be looking to lay claim to a number 1 NCAA Tournament seed with a run threw the ACC Tournament.
Maryland Terrapins are the danger team for Duke in this tournament. Gary Williams has his squad playing great winning 7 straight heading into the post season and you have to like their chances as Maryland played the bully role well this season at 8-1 ATS as conference favorites and they made a habit of beating up lesser talent. Expect Maryland to make a good showing in the tournament this year.
Clemson Tigers finished the conference schedule with a 9-7 mark but don’t count out this Tiger squad. Tigers have a deep bench with a lot of athleticism and they get production from 9 different guys. Clemson was solid in the favorite role this season but struggled as a dog with a 1-6 ATS mark in the puppy role.
Virginia Tech Hokies had a nice season overall but Seth Greenberg’s squad did drop 3 of their last 5 regular season games and this team has not faired well as a favorite in the tournaments with a 1-6 ATS mark in that role. Hokies are 4-0 ATS in the ACC Tournament the last 2 years, but they’ll have to buck some trends to continue that streak this season.
Florida St Seminoles look to get back to the Championship game this season. Last year the Seminoles lost to Duke in the finals but this year the task might be little tougher as they put a young squad on the court. Florida St had 6 losses in ACC play this season which is good and bad. Bad news is they went 0-5 versus Duke, Maryland and Clemson. The good news is they beat everybody else.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons finished the regular season 9-7 in conference play but they’re a team slumping heading into the post-season have dropped 4 of their last 5 games. Wake Forest squad didn’t handle the road very well this season going just 2-6 on the ACC road and obviously they’re not playing the ACC tournament in Winston-Salem this year.
If your looking for a sleeper pick in the ACC I don’t think there is one this year. Yes North Carolina has had huge success in this tournament in the past and they’ll be looking for respect after a 32 point loss at Duke, but I don’t see the Tar Heels making much noise this season.
Like I said in the opening sentence of this article it’s a two horse race for the ACC crown this season and the championship game should be a dandy as these two split out the regular season. ACC Conference not near as tough as they’ve been in the past but the conference will still probably get 5 teams into the big dance come Selection Sunday.