If you were paying attention this season, you’ve heard about how far the ACC has fallen.
ACC coaches disagree, of course, but the league has had trouble gaining respect across the nation.
Only No. 9/7 Duke is mentioned in the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 polls. The Blue Devils have a No. 23 RPI and have fallen to 14th in the NCAA Net rankings. That’s a significant shift from the preseason Associated Press poll that listed Duke (No. 9), North Carolina (No. 19), Florida State (No. 20) and Virginia (No. 25).
So far, the result has been tightly packed standings at the top and bottom. Only 11⁄2 games separate first-place Miami (7-2) from seventh-place Virginia (6-4). The bottom seven range from Clemson, Syracuse, Boston College and Pitt (all tied for ninth at 3-6) to last-place Virginia Tech (2-7).
Pitt and Boston College were hoping to escape the crowd Saturday, but their game was postponed by the cyclone bomb that is expected to dump as much as 36 inches of snow on the New England area. It tentatively was rescheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday.
1. Big game, for multiple reasons
A Pitt victory against Boston College would have given the Panthers their third two-game winning streak of the season (first involving ACC opponents).
After Boston College, Pitt’s schedule becomes a steeper challenge. Pitt must visit Wake Forest, Florida State, North Carolina and Notre Dame. Duke and Miami play at the Pete. All six teams have winning records.
2. Not necessarily losers
The teams in the bottom half of the ACC have had their struggles, but they’ve also had encouraging — if less than triumphant — moments.
• Clemson (3-6) lost at Duke (6-2) by two points Tuesday.
• Syracuse (3-6) defeated Florida State (6-3) by five.
• Boston College is 0-3 against the Atlantic 10 and lost to Albany. But BC beat Notre Dame (6-2) by 16.
• Pitt lost to UMBC and Monmouth but defeated St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. Pitt also has those one-point losses at Virginia (6-4) and at home against the Irish.
• N.C. State (3-7) dragged No. 6 Purdue into overtime before losing and owns a 14-point victory against Virginia.
• In a last-place vs. first-place game Wednesday night, Georgia Tech (2-6) beat Florida State by 14.
• Miami (7-2) needed a half-court, bank-shot, buzzer-beater to beat Virginia Tech (2-7) on Wednesday.
3. What about BC?
The postponement gives Boston College some additional rest at the end of a busy week. The Eagles lost 87-57 at Wake Forest on Monday, a game that was postponed from Dec. 22 because of covid issues at Boston College.
Then, the Eagles went to North Carolina on Wednesday and lost 58-47. In that game, no BC starter reached double-digit points.
4. What’s holding back the ACC?
Pitt coach Jeff Capel pointed to the influx of freshmen and transfers and their inability to quickly assimilate to their teams and opponents.
“Sometimes, it takes awhile for them to find the rhythm of college basketball and the things it takes to be successful,” Capel said of the freshmen.
Miami’s Jim Larranaga made a similar comment, but the ACC isn’t the only league with transfers and freshmen who are playing significant minutes. The Big Ten and Big East each have five teams in the AP poll. The A-10 has as many as the ACC (No. 25 Davidson).
“When it’s all said and done, come March when the Big Dance begins,” Larranaga said, “there will be a bunch of ACC teams in there and a bunch of ACC teams winning a lot of games.”
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently is projecting five ACC schools in the NCAA Tournament (Duke, Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami and North Carolina). That would be the conference’s smallest representation since four went in 2013.
5. Horton working back
After his suspension was lifted Wednesday, Ithiel Horton practiced with the team this week and could be part of Capel’s rotation at guard going forward. When Horton’s suspension initially was lifted Dec. 30, he played 28 minutes and scored 13 points less than a week later against Louisville.
His ability to hit long-range shots — he was 3 of 5 beyond the arc in his only game — may give center John Hugley more elbow room in the paint. We’ll never know what Horton’s presence would have meant in Pitt’s five losses decided by five or fewer points.
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