The brackets have been released and five ACC teams made the Big Dance. North Carolina was the third overall number 1 seed and has to travel to Saint Louis if it made it to the regional semifinals. Duke was thought to have a chance at a one seed but their loss to Florida State in the ACC semifinals dropped them to a two seed in the South Region. Florida State moved into a third seed after their ACC championship and is set up in the East Region. Virginia dropped down to a ten seed after many thought they could have gone as a high as four back in the beginning of February. They play in the West Region. NC State snuck in as an 11 seed in the Midwest Region after an impressive ACC tournament. Miami is the first team out for the ACC. Here is a look at each team's path to success in the tournament:
1. North Carolina: North Carolina, as expected, gets its first two games in Greensboro. This is about as close to a home court advantage out of any team in the tournament. They play the winner of Vermont and Lamar, two teams that won their conference tournaments to get an at-large bid. While Carolina will be heavily favored over either team, both have under-the-radar personalities. Vermont is led by by do-everything Brian Voelkel and freshman all-namer Four McGlynn. Lamar got publicity when coach Pat Knight (son of the great Bob Knight) called out his seniors two weeks ago. Since, Lamar has not lost and won their tournament with a 21 point romp of McNeese State. If Carolina wins they play either Creighton or Alabama. Both of these teams could have arguable been seeded higher, but for different reasons. Creighton ended their season 28-5 and besides a sloppy three game losing streak looked strong all year. All-American Doug McDermott is the leader of this team, and is very familiar with Carolina's Harrison Barnes, as the two played together in high school. Alabama comes in with a top 20 strength of schedule and finished fifth in the SEC. The knock against them is that they only have three wins over tournament teams, the best being over Wichita State in November. The top seeds in UNC's region are Michigan, Kansas, and Georgetown. While the Jayhawks are probably the toughest matchup of the group, it's hard to name anyone that player-of-the-year candidate Thomas Robinson has matched up with that plays better defense than John Henson or Tyler Zeller. Carolina has shown problems matching up against teams that can knock down threes, which is Michigan's specialty. But a lack of size for the Wolverines may end up a bigger problem. Georgetown has the ability to be really good or really bad. Jason Clark is a superb wing player and Henry Sims has come into his own as a center. Catch the Hoyas on a good day, and they could beat UNC. Catch them on a bad day and Carolina could beat them by 20.
2. Duke: The Blue Devils opening round matchup is against the Patriot League Champion Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Lehigh has now won eight in a row, counting their victory over Regular Season Champion Bucknell on Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks feature in offense surrounding junior guard CJ McCollum, who leads the team with 21.9 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. The team is offensive minded, averaging 76.2 points per game and have an interior presence in Gabe Knutson. It is still hard to see the 26-7 Mountain Hawks defeating mighty Duke, especially with a healthy Ryan Kelly to stretch a suspect defense. If Duke wins they face either Notre Dame or Xavier, two teams that have gone in different directions this year. The Irish were not favored to do much this season after losing all-Big East big man Tim Abromaitis. But a strong February led them to a number three seed in the Big East tournament, where they were ousted by eventual champion Louisville. Xavier was a top ten team that featured all-American candidate Tu Holloway until they slipped off a bit after the notorious brawl with Cincinnati in December. The top seeds in the South Region include Kentucky, Indiana, and Baylor. The Blue Devils would face off against Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen, a team that has size to match anyone in the country but has been beaten by teams with excellent guard play, something Duke possesses. Indiana and Kentucky would be a rematch of Kentucky's only regular season loss in the other Sweet Sixteen matchup. Kentucky is the prohibitive favorite to win the whole thing and the number overall seed. Indiana is a young and talented team that has weapons at every position.
3. Florida State- I like Florida State to make a better run at the final four than any other team in the conference. Experience is necessary for a big tournament run, as is size. These are the two attributes you first think of with a deep Seminole team that is rolling at the right time. They start off with a matchup against Atlantic 10 tournament champion St. Bonaventure's in the 3-14 game. The Bonnies stole a bubble team's spot and surprised most by winning the A-10. But Florida State is too hot right now to be slowed down by an average offensive team like the Bonnies. Their second round matchup will be interesting. They get the winner of Cincinnati and Texas. Cincy may be a bit overrated in my opinion, and probably moved way up in the seeding with a strong Big East tournament. But they were slowed by a good defensive team in Louisville in the championship and the Seminoles are even stronger than the Cardinals on that end of the floor. Texas was a bubble team till the very end of the season but possess one of the nation's elite scorers in J'Covan Brown. ACC Tournament MVP Michael Snaer will probably get that individual matchup and there is nothing that tells me that Snaer, who may be the hottest player in the country right now, would not win that battle. The other top seeds in the East Region are Syracuse, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. Syracuse has a tough draw to reach the elite eight, as a potential second round matchup with a fiery Kansas State team looms. Wisconsin can shoot the three and stretch defenses with the best of them, and that is exactly what you need to beat Syracuse's patented 2-3 zone. However, a first and second draw includes Vanderbilt, Harvard, and Montana, perhaps the most competitive draw of the first two round anywhere in the bracket. Ohio State, I believe, has the power and talent to win the whole thing. If they play the way they did against Duke back in December they beat anyone in the country. But Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft, William Buford and the gang are inconsistent and have appeared vulnerable on both ends of the court before.
10. Virginia- The Cavaliers open with one of the opening rounds most enticing matchups. They drew the Florida Gators, who have been a top 25 team all year long but have lost 4 of 5. The Cavaliers have lost 3 of 4 themselves, including a heartbreaking defeat to NC State in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. The Gators possess talent, and a lot of NBA level caliber at that. Irving Walker is small but makes plays while Kenny Boynton adds athletic ability and a good shot to the backcourt. Brad Beal is thought by many to be a top ten pick in this year's draft and is joined in the frontcourt by big man Patric Young, who is one of the best inside talent's in the country. None of them, though, have had as much of an impact on this season as Mike Scott. The power forward is having an all-American type of year and the Cavs defense is one of a few that could slow Florid'a high powered attack. If Virginia were to win, they would more than likely play second seeded Missouri in the second round. The Tigers feature a four guard lineup that can score and run with anyone. Virginia's backcourt would be challenged in this one but Missouri would struggle to find an answer for Scott. Unfortunately for the Cavs, I don't think they will win going basket for basket with Mizzou.
11. NC State: The Wolfpack were the last team announced on the CBS broadcast of the unveiling of the brackets, so had to hold their breath. They were not, however, the last team in, and proved to the committee they belonged with a strong ACC tournament performance. Their reward: San Diego State, the regular season champions in the strong Mountain West conference. The Aztecs were supposed to be having a rebuilding year but, led by sophomore guard Jamaal Franklin, have another good seed. This is a matchup that the more experience Wolfpack team could win, however, and a good matchup to watch will be CJ Leslie and the Aztecs' Deshawn Stephens. Stephens is defense first but Leslie is playing the best basketball of his career. If State were to win they would get the winner of Georgetown and Belmont. A lot of people are looking for an upset out of Belmont, and while they are a strong mid-major I don't see it happening. Georgetown is too strong at every position and has senior leadership. This might also spell doom if the Wolfpack get the Hoyas in the second round. Henry Sims is playing great basketball in the middle and has done a good job of getting opposing centers into foul trouble, something that has plagued the Wolfpack all year. Like Virginia, I am going to steer clear of anymore what-ifs with the Wolfpack.
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