Best teams in the ACC

[NKR1978]

You ought to be concerned about all these ACC games because any one of these teams is perfectly capable of beating SU especially any team that beats UNC or Duke. I think Boeheim knows this and if the players don't yet they are going to get a rude awakening pretty quickly.

I see us losing 4 to 6 ACC games. This SU teams has some flaws and these ACC coaches already see them. That's why Miami had us tied with a few minutes left.

We will see, but you make it sound like we are stepping up to the ACC from the MAC. We have faced good coaches and good teams for the last 30 years. We will be ok.

 

[Cowtown]

Well, we will only have to wait a couple of weeks to find out if your optimistic scenario plays out.

If I were you, I wouldn't bet the ranch we get through the ACC with one or two losses.

I hate for SU to lose any games ever. But living in DC I have seen a lot of ACC basketball over a lot of seasons and the conference has always had great teams, great players and great coaches. I think some SU fans are going to go through a little learning experience in the next few months,

We will see, but you make it sound like we are stepping up to the ACC from the MAC. We have faced good coaches and good teams for the last 30 years. We will be ok.

I don't see a way to disagree with either of these. There are a number of ACC teams who can't wait to play SU in their gyms. If I was one of those coaches or teams, I'd be delighted for the opportunity also. But the cognoscenti of Orange basketball are abundantly aware of that. And I'd bet a brand new TopFlite 1000 to a Krispy Kreme they're looking forward to it all as well. I can't wait, this is gonna be a great year.

 

[Townie72]

We will see, but you make it sound like we are stepping up to the ACC from the MAC. We have faced good coaches and good teams for the last 30 years. We will be ok.

We will be OK. Sure. I agree with that.

My argument is with the "We'll win 30 games" crowd that's on here.

We didn't exactly dominate the Big East. And this is a comparable conference.

 

[obliterata]

Florida State has played teams and looks legit. They are team I wouldn't want to play the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament because of their defense, but they aren't a threat for the NC because they can't score. Florida State beat Michigan in Puerto Rico, only team to beat UMass, and lost close games to Florida and Minnesota. UVA-Florida State was the most interesting ACC opener because both teams are top 6 in the conference IMO and UVA winning that game wasn't a shocker it was how bad FSU looked on offense, but UVA is a good defensive team as well. I think 6 ACC teams are pretty much locks for the NCAA Tournament by year's end Syracuse, Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Notre Dame/Clemson/Maryland/Wake Forest/NC State will try to separate and get maybe 1 or 2 more bids.

Virginia's "big" OOC win is SMU and that makes them almost a lock?

Here's the "big" OOC wins of the 5 teams you think are trying for 1 or 2 bids:

NC ST: Tennessee, Northwestern
Clemson: S Carolina, Temple
ND: Indiana
MD: Providence
WF: USC

In another thread you question whether UConn and Gtown will make the tournament. Here's their OOC wins:

UConn: Florida, Indiana, Washington, MD, BC
Gtown: VCU, Kansas St

You honestly think the ACC teams have done better than UConn and Gtown OOC? If Gtown had beaten SMU instead of VCU and Kansas St you would consider them an almost lock? If UConn and Wake Forest switched OOC wins you wouldn't think WF had already done enough to be a near lock?

Personally, I think the ACC is a 5-bid league that doesn't deserve a 6th judging by the OOC results. An 11-7 conference record shouldn't automatically get these lesser teams a bid.

 

[Cusefan0307]

No,disrespect townie, but we have won 30 games three out of the last four years. Also Pitt looks way better than duke or Unc at this point.

 

[NKR1978]

We will be OK. Sure. I agree with that.

My argument is with the "We'll win 30 games" crowd that's on here.

We didn't exactly dominate the Big East. And this is a comparable conference.

We didn't dominate it, but I think there were more good to great to legendary coaches in the BE that we competed against than we will deal with in the ACC.

Calhoun, Pitino, Boeheim, Huggins, Wright, Thompson III, Dixon, Cronin, Heath (I think he's underrated), Brey, Buzz.

The ACC coaches just don't have the depth of success that the BE coaches have and I think JB can hold his own. The only ACC team, besides SU, that has done anything of note out of conference is UNC.

We've played at Pitt, Morgantown, Storrs and Louisville. I think the boys will be able to handle Winston-Salem, College Park, Charlottesville, Coral Gables, Durham, Boston and Tallahassee.

Your posts here seem more like you're setting yourself up for a gleeful "I told you so" post if the team does happen to stumble a bit.

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

We will be OK. Sure. I agree with that.

My argument is with the "We'll win 30 games" crowd that's on here.

We didn't exactly dominate the Big East. And this is a comparable conference.

Wow...30 games won the last 3 of 4 years and you are complaining? We will likely win 30 again this year...

 

[JackBauer44]

I would love it if at the end of the year the top 3 in the ACC was a combo of SU, Pitt, and ND.

 

[Flacusian]

Well, we will only have to wait a couple of weeks to find out if your optimistic scenario plays out.

If I were you, I wouldn't bet the ranch we get through the ACC with one or two losses.

I hate for SU to lose any games ever. But living in DC I have seen a lot of ACC basketball over a lot of seasons and the conference has always had great teams, great players and great coaches. I think some SU fans are going to go through a little learning experience in the next few months,

I don't really feel like what I'm saying is any more optimistic than it is a reasonable expectation. I acknowledged the fact that we will likely lose some games but based on the available data and observations of both our team and those in the ACC which we are going to face I think it's improbable that we lose 6 games. Could it happen? of course it could. I recall a team that was 19-0 that staggered to the season finish line.

I'd be the 1st one to acknowledge that in Conference play on pretty much any given night you can lose a game. I'd also be one to acknowledge that vs. any team in the conference we at this point in time are likely favored to win against them.

As an ardent fan of the team I think it's only appropriate to be optimistic especially in view of the fact that we have been pleasantly surprised by this team and they have exceeded the expectations of nearly everyone who frequents this board. Go back and peruse the season prediction thread. I choose to revel in the good times since life is so short and having a great team like we have this year is a special treat although we have been getting spoiled with exceptional teams over the past half decade or so now.

 

[Pitt_Fan_ACC]

DeCourcy wrote an article today about how the old Big East has a chance to win 3 conferences this year. He said he knows it is early but that we could easily see the old BE win the new BE, the American, and the ACC. I think you all will win the ACC this year in hoops. This Pitt team is better then I thought they would be. Schedule has not been anything special but I think they will finish top 4 in the conference.

 

[Townie72]

I don't really feel like what I'm saying is any more optimistic than it is a reasonable expectation. I acknowledged the fact that we will likely lose some games but based on the available data and observations of both our team and those in the ACC which we are going to face I think it's improbable that we lose 6 games. Could it happen? of course it could. I recall a team that was 19-0 that staggered to the season finish line.

I'd be the 1st one to acknowledge that in Conference play on pretty much any given night you can lose a game. I'd also be one to acknowledge that vs. any team in the conference we at this point in time are likely favored to win against them.

As an ardent fan of the team I think it's only appropriate to be optimistic especially in view of the fact that we have been pleasantly surprised by this team and they have exceeded the expectations of nearly everyone who frequents this board. Go back and peruse the season prediction thread. I choose to revel in the good times since life is so short and having a great team like we have this year is a special treat although we have been getting spoiled with exceptional teams over the past half decade or so now.

After reading your post, I'm unsure whether you are practicing purposeful self-delusion (by choosing to be optimistic) or whether you actually think this a "great team (As in, "having a great team like we have this year".)

We have been fortunate a few times against the stronger teams we have played. In Hawaii two of the teams had their best player unavailable. In some games we have shot the light out from the foul line which for SU is out of character.

This is a good team. A surprisingly good team. But its a long way from "great" at this point in time. But, have fun. Who am I to rain on your parade? But. you might want to think about having an umbrella available even if its in the attic.

 

[HarrisonJBounel]

DeCourcy wrote an article today about how the old Big East has a chance to win 3 conferences this year. He said he knows it is early but that we could easily see the old BE win the new BE, the American, and the ACC. I think you all will win the ACC this year in hoops. This Pitt team is better then I thought they would be. Schedule has not been anything special but I think they will finish top 4 in the conference.

I live in NC and I'm sooooooo going to LMAO if the ACC conference final is Syr-Pitt.

 

[Flacusian]

DeCourcy wrote an article today about how the old Big East has a chance to win 3 conferences this year. He said he knows it is early but that we could easily see the old BE win the new BE, the American, and the ACC. I think you all will win the ACC this year in hoops. This Pitt team is better then I thought they would be. Schedule has not been anything special but I think they will finish top 4 in the conference.

Pitt deserves to be ranked. You are getting hosed by the voters. By seasons end it will be apparent that Pitt is going to make some noise.

 

[Flacusian]

After reading your post, I'm unsure whether you are practicing purposeful self-delusion (by choosing to be optimistic) or whether you actually think this a "great team (As in, "having a great team like we have this year".)

We have been fortunate a few times against the stronger teams we have played. In Hawaii two of the teams had their best player unavailable. In some games we have shot the light out from the foul line which for SU is out of character.

This is a good team. A surprisingly good team. But its a long way from "great" at this point in time. But, have fun. Who am I to rain on your parade? But. you might want to think about having an umbrella available even if its in the attic.

There is absolutely nothing self delusory about 15-0 and ranked 2nd in the Nation is there? To me it seems hard to understand why you feel the need to caution me to check my expectations of this years team. When I say "great team" it is a relative description of my appraisal of the team. It's not to say, "One of the all time great teams" Or, "A team so great it can't be beaten".
Perhaps we've been fortunate to win some of our games. Good fortune is oftentimes a major component in the outcome of a game. There are some undeniable facts with regard to this team at this moment in time which would give one ample fodder for having an optimistic outlook for this team moving forward.

We are 15-0
We are ranked #2 in both polls
We are highly ranked in RPI
We have a Hall of Fame Coach
We play many of our most contentious contests remaining at home in the Dome
We have an incredible point guard who is playing like a seasoned vet.
We have at least 3 players who will go on to play in the NBA
We are currently projected as a #1 seed and the number 2 seed overall.

I'd say at this juncture in time those facts are all "great", ergo, at this moment in time this team is "Great"

At the same time I respect your differing opinion. Perhaps we can just agree to disagree!

 

[CaptainJ]

While some of our fans (including myself at times) may be delusional(and others may be overly optimistic lol), this conference appears like it could almost have the look of the "mid-major" status that some folks on here like to use as an insult. If we beat UNC and if Duke has another loss soon, it's possible it could be a conference with ONE ranked team. Hell, when was the last time the Big East only had 2? Anyone?

Even if we are nowhere near as good as some of us imagine, I think it's even more fair to say this conference appears as though it at least has a good chance of having sad sack status this season. That said, it wouldn't be anything new for us to have some inexplicable losses to a group of sad sacks. To take the moderate approach between you two, the outcome of the UNC game may not be a huge mountain of evidence for either school. It's still very early in conference play.

 

[SUFan44]

You ought to be concerned about all these ACC games because any one of these teams is perfectly capable of beating SU especially any team that beats UNC or Duke. I think Boeheim knows this and if the players don't yet they are going to get a rude awakening pretty quickly.

I see us losing 4 to 6 ACC games. This SU teams has some flaws and these ACC coaches already see them. That's why Miami had us tied with a few minutes left.

4-6?! Are you crazy? This team is not going to go 12-6 in a mediocre ACC.

 

[Flacusian]

4-6?! Are you crazy? This team is not going to go 12-6 in a mediocre ACC.

Amen! Thank you!

 

[Flacusian]

Grab the torches and pitchforks!!! Screw it we're gonna win 'em all!!!

 

[HOFCeluck]

We've played at Pitt, Morgantown, Storrs and Louisville. I think the boys will be able to handle Winston-Salem, College Park, Charlottesville, Coral Gables, Durham, Boston and Tallahassee.

Yeah...we've won precisely one game at the Pete in its existence. Our last win was in 2004.

We did a little better at Louisville, we won twice.

We went eleven seasons (1999-2011) without winning at Uconn.

The road in the ACC is going to be harder than in the Big East.

 

[SUFan44]

Yeah...we've won precisely one game at the Pete in its existence. Our last win was in 2004.

We did a little better at Louisville, we won twice.

We went eleven seasons (1999-2011) without winning at Uconn.

The road in the ACC is going to be harder than in the Big East.

Why is it going to be harder? Because the teams are different? Because they certainly aren't better. Pitt was ranked in almost every game that we played on the road against them. Louisville and UConn too.

There's exactly one team ranked in the ACC right now not named Syracuse.

 

[Quazzum69]

Yeah...we've won precisely one game at the Pete in its existence. Our last win was in 2004.

We did a little better at Louisville, we won twice.

We went eleven seasons (1999-2011) without winning at Uconn.

The road in the ACC is going to be harder than in the Big East.

I believe UConn won something like 3 national championships during that stretch. Did we lose because of the arena or was it because UConn was arguably the best program in the country and for much of that time while SU was average?

Home field advantage is like three points or something like that. You really think mediocre teams like Georgia Tech, NC St., Miami, Florida State, etc. getting three to at most six points is harder than playing in a conference with UConn, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Georgetown, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Marquette,... well you get the point.

There hasn't been an ACC team beside Duke or UNC to get to the an elite eight since 2004 when Georgia Tech was in the finals. What have they done since then? What has Maryland done since 2002 after winning the title? West Virginia's been to an elite eight and a final four since 2004 - WEST VIRGINIA.

I hope Duke and UNC get it together and teams like Virginia and NC St. turn the corner because the ACC could be as good as the Big East with the addition of Louisville and Pitt hopefully coming back. Right now, it is no comparison.

 

[NKR1978]

Yeah...we've won precisely one game at the Pete in its existence. Our last win was in 2004.

We did a little better at Louisville, we won twice.

We went eleven seasons (1999-2011) without winning at Uconn.

The road in the ACC is going to be harder than in the Big East.

Agree to disagree. I don't think any of the "on campus" environments other than maybe UNC and Duke are anything worse than what we have seen among the best teams in the BE. I don't think Maryland or Virginia will be any more difficult than what we have seen with UConn and Pitt. And we've beaten Pitt three times in the last ten years, our problems with Pitt run much deeper than the Pete.

In 2009 we had a stretch where we played 7/10 games against top 25 teams (most top 10-15). That is far more daunting than playing some mediocre teams on their campus. Maybe as I watch more ACC games in the conference season I will have more respect for the programs/teams, but right now nothing any ACC school has done out of conference scares me.

Of course, teams will get better over the course of the year and we will get tripped up. I just don't see 4-6 losses as things stand today. Do crazy things happen? Of course, but looking at our schedule I think a 2-3 loss ACC season is not a reach. We have done as well or better recently in a stronger Big East, and I'm starting to believe that this team is at the same category of the 2010 and 2012 teams.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Why is it going to be harder? Because the teams are different? Because they certainly aren't better. Pitt was ranked in almost every game that we played on the road against them. Louisville and UConn too.

There's exactly one team ranked in the ACC right now not named Syracuse.

It's going to be harder because in the big east we've had the luxury of playing away games in cavernous NBA arenas with little to no home court advantage. Hell UCONN was one of the most successful teams in the league and their HCA was a total joke. In the ACC we play road games at smaller on campus arenas. They're going to be pretty packed (last nights game notwithstanding...there were other factors) and essentially will functional as their NCAA tournament game.

So while the quality of teams in the ACC is down I think it's actually going to be harder to win on the road.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I believe UConn won something like 3 national championships during that stretch. Did we lose because of the arena or was it because UConn was arguably the best program in the country and for much of that time while SU was average?

Home field advantage is like three points or something like that. You really think mediocre teams like Georgia Tech, NC St., Miami, Florida State, etc. getting three to at most six points is harder than playing in a conference with UConn, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Georgetown, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Marquette,... well you get the point.

There hasn't been an ACC team beside Duke or UNC to get to the an elite eight since 2004 when Georgia Tech was in the finals. What have they done since then? What has Maryland done since 2002 after winning the title? West Virginia's been to an elite eight and a final four since 2004 - WEST VIRGINIA.

I hope Duke and UNC get it together and teams like Virginia and NC St. turn the corner because the ACC could be as good as the Big East with the addition of Louisville and Pitt hopefully coming back. Right now, it is no comparison.

The postseason successes of those teams isn't the point. I'm talking about any given night in the league.

The team we just beat last night was the definition of mediocrity under Seth Greenburg. They've beaten number one four times in their gym.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Agree to disagree. I don't think any of the "on campus" environments other than maybe UNC and Duke are anything worse than what we have seen among the best teams in the BE. I don't think Maryland or Virginia will be any more difficult than what we have seen with UConn and Pitt. And we've beaten Pitt three times in the last ten years, our problems with Pitt run much deeper than the Pete.

In 2009 we had a stretch where we played 7/10 games against top 25 teams (most top 10-15). That is far more daunting than playing some mediocre teams on their campus. Maybe as I watch more ACC games in the conference season I will have more respect for the programs/teams, but right now nothing any ACC school has done out of conference scares me.

Of course, teams will get better over the course of the year and we will get tripped up. I just don't see 4-6 losses as things stand today. Do crazy things happen? Of course, but looking at our schedule I think a 2-3 loss ACC season is not a reach. We have done as well or better recently in a stronger Big East, and I'm starting to believe that this team is at the same category of the 2010 and 2012 teams.

Comcast is a much tougher place to play than XL. Not even close.

I actually agree with you thought that I think six losses is a real stretch. I think we lose at Duke and a couple What games on the road at Pitt and then someplace like Maryland or FSU.