Tobacco Road Report

By Staff

After the first weekend of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, UNC is the lone ACC team in the mix, while the other six ACC teams that received a bid have been sent packing. Since some of the TRR staff lives squarely in the heart of SEC country, we’re already hearing the comments of how overrated the Atlantic Coast Conference has become, while how underappreciated the SEC is year in and year out. Legitimite gripe? Read more to see what we really think.

At the end of the regular season the ACC and SEC finished in a virtual tie for the highest RPI. Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky all had top 15 RPI's for the SEC, while UNC and Duke from the ACC also made the top 15. Of course, Kentucky and Duke have both been eliminated while Vandy, Florida, and Tennessee are still playing. Advantage SEC? Perhaps, especially since Tennessee knocked off Virginia.

Let's also consider a little comparison via a mock ACC-SEC challenge. This is feasible since each league has 12 teams. All pairings are based on RPI:

First the #12 game: Auburn vs. Miami
A battle of underachievers. Auburn did manage to win 7 conference games and the combo of Kovortney Barber and Josh Dollard will likely dominate Miami's mercurial team. SEC 1, ACC 0.

The #11 game: South Carolina vs. Wake Forest
South Carolina lost a good portion of their NIT dominant squad of the last two years, so even the inexperience of Wake Forest would likely carry the day. SC does not have an answer for Kyle Visser. SEC 1, ACC 1.

The #10 game: LSU vs. NC State
Guard play was a problem all year for the Tigers, and NC State is clicking with a semi-healthy Atsur at the helm. Easy win for NC State. SEC 1, ACC 2.

The #9 game: Mississippi State vs. Virginia
Play this game in a year with a seasoned Miss State team and the Bulldogs win. Today, Virginia's guard tandem is two much for the Delk twins to deal with. ACC 3, SEC 1.

The #8 game: Georgia vs. Georgia Tech
Re-match of earlier season contest. At the time, Sundiata Gaines did not play for Georgia. While Tech has improved, Gaines has the grit to carry the Dogs, and Tech lacks the discipline to take advantage of its superior talent. UGA wins. ACC 3, SEC 2.

The #7 game: Ole Miss vs. Clemson
Kennedy has done a great job in his first year at Ole Miss without his players. Clemson is seasoned and its press will likely cause problems for the weaker backcourt of Ole Miss. Clemson wins. ACC 4, SEC 2.

The #6 game: Alabama vs. FSU
Injuries killed the Tide this season. When Ronald Steele got injured during SEC play, this spelled doom for Alabama. FSU is a very flawed team, but Al Thornton can win games on his own. We are guessing that Richard Hendrix will not stop him either....FSU in a close one. ACC 5, SEC 2.

The #5 game: Vanderbilt vs. Virginia Tech
Stallings is one of the more underrated coaches out there, but this season he has a versatile scoring duo in Byars and Foster. A good draw got the Dores to the Sweet 16, but their disciplined play and Byars ability to carry them in the stretch will be enough to handle the always mercurial Va Tech squad. ACC 5, SEC 3.

The #4 game: Arkansas vs. Boston College
A swing game for this competition. Arkansas is playing their best basketball late in the season, but BC does have a go to player in Dudley. Without the departure of Sean Williams, BC probably gets by Georgetown over the weekend. In a close one, BC wins. ACC 6, SEC 3.

The #3 game: Kentucky vs. Maryland
This one will be a battle of tempo. In a half court battle, Morris will lead the Cats to victory. In a wide open game, Maryland will control. We still feel the Terps were a victim of matchup in the tourney. Terps win. ACC 7, SEC 3.

The #2 game: Tennessee vs. Duke
Duke has shown it cannot handle quick athletic guards, or any guards for that matter and UT has about five of them. Tennessee in a blowout as McRoberts cries into his towel. ACC 7, SEC 4.

The #1 game: Florida vs. UNC
As the Nature Boy Ric Flair says, "To be the man, you have to beat the man" While Florida is sputtering, they are still the team to beat. We hope to see this matchup in April. For now, Florida wins. ACC 7, SEC 5.

What is the point? Change the matchups and you could possibly have the SEC win this contest. March Madness is all about the matchups. Switch Maryland and Vandy in the tourney bracket, and we would be talking about two ACC teams in the sweet 16. Add Sean Williams back and BC may squeak by Georgetown. Take away the ankle injury to Reynolds and he scores more than 4 points in the second half against Tennessee. Four ACC teams in the round of 16 was possible, but didn’t happen for various reasons.

Each ACC team got matchup up against their own version of kryponite. For Maryland, it was a team that could control tempo and did not make unforced errors (Butler). For Georgia Tech, it was a team that was mature and disciplined (UNLV). For Virginia, it was a team that could equal their guards plus have a another scoring option (Tennessee, with bigs who could score...Chism). For Duke, it was a team with athletic guards who could drive (VCU). For Virginia Tech, a team with consistency of effort and defense to match could do them in (see Southern Illinois for textbook defensive intensity).

In the end, the ACC showed what is was. A conference with many good teams, but only one great team. UNC was tested but they delivered in the last five minutes. Hopefully, other schools will join them in 2008. In contrast, the SEC has some very talented teams at the top, but lacks the depth of the ACC.

By the way, we’d love to see a future ACC-SEC challenge and we hope it’s in the works. Then we can settle the score heads-up.