Could the ACC get 11 or 12 bids?

[SchmidtyNole]

First off, congrats on your huge win over Kentucky last night.

Now that the Non-Conference Schedules are over and we are getting into conference play I was looking through the RPI ratings and the ACC has 10 teams in the Top 50 of the RPI. That's insane. No other conference is even close. The 10 teams are Louisville, Duke, Virginia, UNC, FSU, Pitt, Wake Forest, NC State, Clemson and Notre Dame. Then you have two other teams in Virginia Tech and Miami that are in the 51-75 range of the RPI. A lot will be based on how conference season goes but with the ACC performing so well in Non-Conference it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see 11 or 12 bids awarded to the ACC this year.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

I think that we will see a couple teams fall victim to a tough stretch of games, losing some real close ones, and as losses add up, sort of get eliminated from the at-large berth.

So one or two teams that are looking like solid at-large berths today may not look that way in a few months. Predicting which team (s) that will be is real guess work.

But maybe we re-visit this one?

I will go on a limb and say WF won't make it. They don't have a single impressive out of conference win. NC St is in a similar position. And both these teams have a bad loss each. So they don't have the wiggle room the other teams have.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

I think that we will see a couple teams fall victim to a tough stretch of games, losing some real close ones, and as losses add up, sort of get eliminated from the at-large berth.

So one or two teams that are looking like solid at-large berths today may not look that way in a few months. Predicting which team (s) that will be is real guess work.

But maybe we re-visit this one?

I will go on a limb and say WF won't make it. They don't have a single impressive out of conference win. NC St is in a similar position. And both these teams have a bad loss each. So they don't have the wiggle room the other teams have.

Totally agree. If you're sitting around #20 at the end of Non-Conference season with a couple big wins and no bad losses, then if you slip up in Conference a couple of times or run into a tough stretch of games and lose a few close games in a row, then you could still make it in if you end up 8-10 or 9-9 and even still get a decent seed because you're looking at 22-11 or 21-12 overall with a really tough schedule.

To me the difference with the teams you mentioned in Wake and NC State is they can't make it in going 8-10 or 9-9. To me their mark is no worse than 10-8 to make it in.

Some other teams in the mix could go 8-10 in conference and still feel safe on Selection Sunday.

The thing with the ACC schedule this year is it really is impossible to predict. I mean "Who really is going to win the league?" It's everybodies' best guess. There are so many teams that could beat anybody in the league on any given night.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Agree Schmidty - Winning on the road is hard in this league.

Clemson for example, a middling team by this league standard, whipped a handful of teams at home last year and they have a strong roster again this year.

You guys, IMO... not to hype you up - but you guys are the one "wildcard" in this league. Bacon is the best player nobody talks about - the FSU back court looks stout. You guys shoot the 3 ball pretty well and are solid @ the FT line also.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

Agree Schmidty - Winning on the road is hard in this league.

Clemson for example, a middling team by this league standard, whipped a handful of teams at home last year and they have a strong roster again this year.

You guys, IMO... not to hype you up - but you guys are the one "wildcard" in this league. Bacon is the best player nobody talks about - the FSU back court looks stout. You guys shoot the 3 ball pretty well and are solid @ the FT line also.

I think this is our best team in years. We already have three Top 50 wins over Minnesota, Florida and Illinois. I just hope they play like it in the ACC Schedule. Our rotation consists of 12 guys that can all play. We probably don't have the strongest Starting 5 in the league but we have a lot of depth.

The one weakness that concerns me is we are ranked around 200 in the country in Defensive Rebound percentage. That could bite us in the ACC with so many athletic Power Forwards and Centers that can crash the Offensive Boards.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

I know you guys had to suspend Mayes last year, I don't know how long that suspension lasted, but it clearly hurt you guys when we played. Honestly, I was very disappointed he had to miss the game.

This league is so competitive it is imperative to have continuity and as little distractions as possible. Obviously Duke will get past their current issue, but pretty much all other teams will need to avoid key injury or off court problems that can happen over the course of a lengthy season. So that adds to the uncertainty of outcomes. Sure, I pointed to WF and NC St as potential teams to slide, but if they have strong chemistry and improve they could also trend the other direction too. I mean who knows?

Is he past whatever issue he had last year?

 

[SchmidtyNole]

I know you guys had to suspend Mayes last year, I don't know how long that suspension lasted, but it clearly hurt you guys when we played. Honestly, I was very disappointed he had to miss the game.

This league is so competitive it is imperative to have continuity and as little distractions as possible. Obviously Duke will get past their current issue, but pretty much all other teams will need to avoid key injury or off court problems that can happen over the course of a lengthy season. So that adds to the uncertainty of outcomes. Sure, I pointed to WF and NC St as potential teams to slide, but if they have strong chemistry and improve they could also trend the other direction too. I mean who knows?

Is he past whatever issue he had last year?

Mayes seems to have matured a lot from last year. Hasn't had any moments in the dog house like he had last year.