Tobacco Road Report

Staff put their collective heads together to discuss what we learned from the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Some of our thoughts may surprise you.

1. The ACC depth is stronger than previous years….
We all knew that Duke and UNC would be solid this year. While Duke has a ways to go, UNC is already looking like a contender for Atlanta in March. The encouraging signs are that Maryland and Georgia Tech are back to NCAA form. Both teams have post issues to resolve before conference play, but the guard play is there and will elevate both clubs into the national spotlight. Virginia looks to be improved, as TRR believes Purdue is a candidate for top 3 in the Big 10. Boston College still has plenty of questions around its post play, but the MSU victory at least righted the ship for the moment.

Questions still remain concerning Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Florida State. Florida State has great individual talent, but the sum of the whole is far less than the parts as of now. For Virginia Tech, an inside scoring threat must be established to compliment the guards. Clemson needs to beat a quality team and we will hop on board.

For NC State, Sidney Lowe showed the ability to adjust in the victory over Michigan. We still think that Miami, NC State, and Wake are the bottom three in the conference, but top to bottom, the ACC is solid this year. Wake will answer more questions about its talent on Saturday as they host Georgia in Winston-Salem.

2. The Freshmen Can Play…

UNC unveiled its stellar freshman class on Wednesday night with Wright, Lawson, and Ellington exerting themselves in the contest. Georgia Tech’s freshman trio of Young, Peacock, and Crittenton have delivered as advertised, while the surprises have come from the young Terrapin guards. The key in all of these situations has been the presence of solid veteran play around the youth. DJ Strawberry is a steadying force for Gary Williams, while Mario West has steadied the play of Javaris Crittenton. The All ACC freshman first team will likely be able to beat most teams in the country this season.

3. The Challenge is a waste of time without benefits to the ACC….

First off, TRR loves the Big 10 Challenge as it provides great matchups early in the season that you probably would not otherwise get. However, what does the ACC have to do to get respect come tourney time? The ACC has won every challenge, yet the Big 10 gets more aggregate NCAA tourney bids in March. Why? We think the problem is in the RPI and indices used by the selection committee. Traditionally, the cupcakes that the Big 10 plays in December are better than the cupcakes found in ACC country. For instance, this year Indiana will play Butler and Southern Illinois out of conference, while Georgia Tech gets the mighty Elon and Jackson State. We don’t fault Georgia Tech for this as you tend to schedule teams close to your house. The mid-major teams in the Midwest are simply better than the mid-major teams in the southeast. Hopefully, the committee in March will remember the beating that the ACC handed out and properly reward the conference.

4. We were probably off in our pre-season forecast….

After seeing everyone play at least once, we have revised our conference predictions for now….

1. UNC
2. Georgia Tech
3. Maryland
4. Duke
5. Virginia
6. Boston College
7. FSU
8. Clemson
9. Va Tech
10. Wake Forest
11. Miami

Be sure to check back as we revise our predictions often….

Update: Just when we thought it was safe to hype the Terrapins, we're starting to ask questions again.

5. Duke has a long ways to go….

Watching Duke vs. Indiana was painful. Good defense was played on both ends of the floor, but Duke may have too much youth this time around. TRR likes the freshman (especially Henderson and Thomas), but this version of the Blue Devils looks to be on the learning curve. We see them developing into a very good team by March, but we feel the January conference schedule may have more L’s than usual.

Update: The win agains Georgetown is a good omen for Blue Devil fans.