HERE’S HOW THE ACC TOURNAMENT WILL GO: Round about this time and 50 plus years ago teachers across The Old North State would be rolling a TV cart into their classrooms, assigning some light ‘busy-work,’ and settling in to watch a few games spotlighting Tobacco Road. In those days the Atlantic Coast Conference of C.D. Chesley and “Sailing With The Pilot” was 8 teams small and stretched from Maryland to South Carolina. The conference season was 14 games, with everyone doing a home and away with everyone else. Sentiments were strong and rivalries and history ran deep. The familiarity bred a good deal of both respect and enmity each one to the other.
Whether there were 8 or 7 (Sub Carolina bugged out in a huff in ‘72 so until Georgia Tech joined in 1979 the count was 7 schools in the league) the games began on Thursday with the winners battling on Friday evening with the knock-down, drag-out final scheduled for Saturday. For that Thursday noon game - the first versus last seed - classrooms were transformed into mini-arenas and bone-dry barrooms - hardwood heavens peopled by youthful lovers, and haters, of the teams in play and everyone in thrall to The Game that Mr. Chesley and that Old Seafaring Pilot broadcast, saving us all for one glorious afternoon from the quadratic formula and diagramming sentences.
This year, on Tuesday, March 10 the tournament kicks off with the once-unthinkable match-up of 10-seed Stanford (20-11, 9-9) and 15-seed Pitt (12-19, 5-13) at 2:00. The 4:30 game is 11-seed SMU (19-12, 8-10) versus 14-seed Syracuse (15-16, 6-12). The nightcap, at 7 pm sees 12-seed Virginia Tech (19-12, 8-10) vs. 13-seed Wake Forest (15-15, 6-12). Day one sees but a single original ACC team playing, the Big Four Demon Deacons. Notre Dame, Boston College, and Georgia Tech bottomed out in the far-too-large-league and sit at home with no shot at Cinderella nor even spoiler thrills. These games are on the ACC Network.
On Wednesday, March 11, the winner of the Stanford/Pitt game will take on the wolpfack of NC State, a 7-seed with a record of 19-12 and 10-8, 1-6 in their last 7 – that game tips at NOON. The winner of the SMU/Syracuse game will play 6-seed Louisville (22-9, 11-7) at 2:30. The evening brings a match-up of 8-seeded Florida State (17-14, 10-8 and 8-2 in its last 10) and 9-seeded California (21-10, 9-9). Number 5-seed Clemson (21-8, 11-5) battles the winner of the VaTech/Wake Forest tilt at 9:30. These games are on ESPN or ESPN2.
Thursday, March 12, sees a Noon game between 2-seed Virginia *27-4, 15-3) and the winner of the state – Stanford/Pitt game. The 2:30 game pits 3-seed Miami (24-7, 13-5) against the winner of the Louisville-SMU/Syracuse match-up. At 7 pm dook plays the winner of Florida State/Cal and the late game pits Carolina (24-7, 12-6) against the Clemson-VaTech/Wake Forest game. These games are on ESPN or ESPN2.
On Friday, March 13, the semifinal games will be played at 7 and 9:30 and the Championship will be played Saturday night at 8:30.
This year three of the top four seeds are original Atlantic Coast Conference schools and all four are ranked in the top 20. Clemson, the 5-seed, is also ranked. All five of those teams are slated to make the NCAA tournament. Joining that quintet is Louisville, also a likely dancer. State, FSU, SMU – even Cal and Stanford could slip into the NCAA with great runs this week. We’re all pulling for Florida State or Cal to kick it into high gear on Thursday evening. Keep an eye on Friday night too.
