Men's College Basketball

NCAA Basketball Debrief: It’s Duke, Then ‘Who Else?’ In The ACC

The ACC starts with Duke, but the conversation doesn’t end there. It’s a difficult question in what is a down year for what once was the premier college basketball conference in the country: Which team is second-best in the ACC?

by Nick Fasulo

Jan 20, 2011, 3:54 PM UTC

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John Feinstein spent a season immersed within its tentacles, it once sent three teams to the Elite Eight, and the ACC consistently has been referred to as the most talent-laden and passionate college basketball conference in the country.

We all can agree that college sports are cyclical; a couple down recruiting classes here, a great coach retires and the program needs a few years to find a marquee replacement there. Being the premier team or league for a sustained period of time is nearly impossible to do. During the non-conference portion of the schedule, the ACC finished sixth in win percentage (thanks for this stat and graphic below, StatSheet.com), behind the Mountain West and Conference USA. So please, don’t play the perception card, Sidney Lowe. It’s no secret that this season the ACC has distanced itself from the night-in, night-out hotly contested match-ups prevalent during early aughts. This begs the hot-button question: After Duke, who is the second-best team in the ACC this season?

Of the remaining 11 teams, I am going to do us all a favor and cut Wake Forest and Georgia Tech from this argument. They’re no good. And for reasons of brevity, I’ll make an educated guess and say that while Virginia and Miami will find a way to at least hover around the .500 mark, they’re not going to finish second in the conference. Neither is North Carolina State. They’re talented, but lack energy and consistency. CJ Leslie, built and hyped as though he would be a one-and-done player, seems apathetic to this whole competitive basketball thing. Lowe has never been much of an in-game extraordinaire, so don’t expect the Wolfpack to step to the podium. Oh, and Virginia Tech; I guess I should throw them in here. They can’t get offensive rebounds to give themselves additional chances to score, and Malcolm Delaney turns the ball over almost four times a game. He's their best player, but dangerously unreliable.

We also have to drop Clemson. Despite numerous fast starts to the non-conference portion of their schedule, the Tigers have usually sunk into mediocrity as the temperatures drop. They've also never finished second since the conference began their initial expansion in 2004. Additionally, this team decided to rent an apartment in Cupcake City to open the season as they’ve only played three true road games and have a 200-plus strength of schedule. In other words – there’s not enough data to assume they can compete.

Probably the omission that will draw the most ire is North Carolina. They lost to the aforementioned Yellow Jackets by 20 on Sunday, and their point guard is Larry Drew III. Both are equally as crippling.

This all sounds harsh and dismissive, but we have a word count to adhere to.

For a trio of teams showing signs of life, Florida State is our first logical candidate. If you follow KenPom.com, you know that the Seminoles are currently second in the conference in expected win percentage, which means exactly that -- throw a bunch of important numbers into a blender and out comes a number that shows they should finish second in the conference. Defensive-minded, the Seminoles are an excellent rebounding team that also leads the nation in defensive FG percentage (35). In addition to the well-known Chris Singleton, senior Derwin Kitchen has provided scoring on the perimeter, and Leonard Hamilton's team is well-built for a long season, as eight players average at least 15 minutes per game. This team also beat Duke – which carries more weight than any other victory in college basketball, and should at least secure an automatic bid.

Fearless in their new style of play under Steve Donahue, Boston College is fourth in the country in AdjOe (Opponents’ average adjusted offensive efficiency), scoring 121 points per 100 possessions. Reggie Jackson has learned how to be a star, leading the Eagles in scoring, assists and steals. Their biggest problem is consistency and scheduling. Remember, this team is 0-2 against the Ivy League this season, and they still must travel to Duke, Florida State and North Carolina. At the very least, the rate this team is playing has put Donahue in the coach of the year discussion, giving boosters a nice early return on investment and reason for fans to invest some time and energy on this team.

It was a small sample size, but when the question was posed on Twitter, the only answer I got was Maryland. I am not a follower, I just like to seek the opinion of others to confirm my own. The Terps undoubtedly have the best non-Dukie player in the conference, Jordan Williams, and when the league is playing in a shallow talent pool, one player who averages 18 and 12 and shoots just a touch under 80 percent from 2-point-range can go a long way. From a more macro point of view, the Terps have put the clamps down defensively. They’re the most efficient defensive team in the country, and ninth in defensive field goal percentage. I also appreciate their disinterest in the long ball. With only 16 percent of their total points coming from 3-point range, the Terrapins are not going to shoot themselves out of a ball game and let their opponent get easy fast-break points. With Gary Williams a more experienced and proven coach than the aforementioned Hamilton and Donahue, gives these guys the nod over the Seminoles and Eagles

But all this aside, there's no clear cut second best team. @IraBerky may be onto something when he says it’s everyone besides Duke.

Parity! It’s what’s made the NFL so successful.

Five Up*

Texas - It's not a school, it's a brand. Yesterday the school announced a first-of-its-kind cable TV deal that will become a ... wait for it ... cash cow for the university. The Longhorns basketball team is also looking sharp, with a convincing victory over the upstart Texas A&M Aggies last night. Texas currently sits atop the Big 12 as a weekend date with Kansas looms.

The response to Oregon’s new court - Sure, Oregon's new court is hideous, but it allows fans and writers to flex their funny muscles and crack jokes, and also is further proof that there's no such thing as bad press. These sorts of opportunities don't happen very frequently, so when we can yell "Singler...fir tree!", drop jokes about neon colored vomit and bad mushroom trips, we feel giddy.

Duquesne - Taking up residency at the bottom of the Atlantic 10 nearly every season, the Dukes are off to a laudable 12-5 start, and are 4-0 to start conference play, including a victory over league favorite Temple. What's even more impressive, this team has avoided "bad losses," going 6-0 against teams with a 100-plus RPI.

The 4-Pointer – Not listed here because Antoine Walker wiggled his way back downcourt during his latest D-League game, but rather Jimmer Fredette giving new meaning to long range. Is this the best player in college basketball?

Dayton coming up empty in Cincinnati ... for the 26th consecutive time - Means little in the grand scheme of things, but watching Xavier (alma mater) defeat those grungy Flyers in the 'Nati - which they've done every matchup since the Carter Administration - gets a special place on this list.

*You're in another stratosphere, Kemba Walker

Five Down

Clemson - Speaking of bad streaks, Dayton has absloutely nothing against the Tigers’ woes in Chapel Hill. Losers of their last 55 in the Dean Dome, Clemson was downed by a North Carolina team that was probably still feeling woozy after a Sunday night drubbing at the hands of Georgia Tech -- the same Georgia Tech team Brad Brownell’s club buried by 25 last week. Clearly, the transitive property is not in effect here.

Georgetown - Who are these guys? The Hoyas may be the most puzzling team in the country, losers of four of their last seven and lacking any real effort at both ends of the floor. Perhaps the best perspective out there on the troubles this team is facing came last Saturday in The Washington Post, when Tarik El-Bashir called their game against Rutgers a must win.

Maurice Creek - A promising young guard who hasn't been able to show his true potential, Creek went down with his second year-ending injury in as many seasons. This time it's a stress fracture, as the Hoosiers lose their fifth leading scorer still trying to get back into a rhythm after recovering from a torn ACL last New Year's Eve. I might be the last one to declare that the Tom Crean era isn't going as we hoped.

Jacob Pullen's disdain for the NIT - Kansas State has a lot of issues this season, and much of it stems from Jacob Pullen's inability to be a leader. It's pretty tasteless for your star guard to say, in mid-January, that he won't play in no stinkin' NIT. And don't try and tell me it's his way of motivating his troops. The whole thing reeks of pouty-ness.

Centenary - 0-18 and politely allowing their opponents to score 80 points a game, these Gentlemen remain the worst team in college basketball, and it ain't even close.