Before March was mad, the ACC was already basketball crazy.
Since 1955, the granddaddy of all conference tournaments has put one heck of an exclamation point on the end of the season, the twist ending to an Oscar-worthy film. Even in an era when six bids out of the league are as routine as Billy Packer ripping apart mid-majors or Mike Krzyewski having a colorful conversation with the referees, the ACC tournament still matters.
And in 2009, the ACC tournament has a to-do list the size of Barack Obama's.
March started days ago. The Madness started Wednesday night.
On an evening where bubble teams could've punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament and boosters could've started humming bars of "One Shining Moment," teams turned down invitations like they were to a wedding without an open bar or the People's Choice Awards.
A memo, fellows. This isn't an invitation to a candlelight dinner with Randy Johnson. "Big Dance" doesn't mean you're cutting a rug with Mark Madsen or waltzing cheek-to-cheek with Mike Tyson.
There was a time when February belonged to college basketball and the intricate puzzle of creating a 65-team bracket from a list of 340-some-odd candidates.
Then we got Rick-rolled by the steroid investigation.
So to get things where they should be here's a steroids tip that doesn't involve digging through someone's garbage:
The ACC is turning into the Duke Invitational. The Blue Devils are 9-0 and coasting. One slip up: Gerald Henderson has a bum wrist. Still, the hardest part of their schedule is behind them as they are set to take another ACC crown. The ACC Power Poll for this week:
1-Duke: The Blue Devils are still undefeated with their two toughest remaining games (Maryland, UNC) at home. Also, they've beaten everyone by at least nine points.
2-North Carolina: The Heels are still 22-2, despite not having Ty Lawson for two weeks now.
3-Maryland: Drama! The suddenly hot Terps head into Cameron Indoor Stadium for a mid-week clash.
4-Clemson: Imagine how the Tigers would be perceived if they had actually finished off UNC on both occassions?
No slight intended against either Georgia Tech or Boston College. As a resident of Atlanta and a BC grad, I am glad that both teams have arisen to the top of the conference and this Saturday's game could be a preview of the ACC Championship Game. However, as a football fan and a defender of the ACC expansion, there is part of me that is a little disappointed. I like that BC and GT are playing well...what is bothersome is that no one else in the conference is. The marquee teams in the league (Miami, Virginia Tech and Florida State) all have quarterback problems. Maryland got run over by West Virginia Thursday night. Defending Champ Wake Forest is 0-2. Expansionists envisioned a new super conference. After Saturday there may be only two ranked ACC teams.
These shifts in power tend to be cyclical, so it is just a matter of time before the ACC is good again. And if your marquee teams are struggling, it doesn't hurt to have programs like Boston College and Georgia Tech filling the void. Both are respected academic institutions. Both have respectable football traditions and both are in major media markets. (It there is one thing the ACC does right, it is play the TV game.)
While the loser of this game will face a setback, the winner will also have the added burden of carrying the conference mantle. From a respect standpoint, the ACC needs a Top 10 team to win the conference. If either Georgia Tech or BC falter down the stretch and the conference sends another three or four loss team to the BCS, the ACC critics and haters will be out in force.
The following has very little actual insight or analysis on Navy's heartbreaking loss to Boston College. Consider it more as a summation of my current emotions.
I drove back to Maryland in silence. Apparently there was country music on the radio at one point, and I've been told that I sat through the first half of a very partisan broadcast of the Peach Bowl sometime between Blacksburg and Frederick, but I don't remember. It was, as is often said, something of a blur, as my mind was still frantically seeking some sense of what happened back in Charlotte. The clock under two minutes, a timeout, a holding penalty, it's ok we're a team of destiny, the huddle, they'll find away, they deserves it.
Maryland hasn't blown out anyone this year. Every win has been hard fought and close until the end. Except for the West Virginia loss, the losses were close too. It didn't matter if the wins were on the road against strong ACC teams -- Clemson -- or at home against a drained team -- Miami -- the games were close until the end. In fact, the two games I just mentioned were both one point games. So does this style of play help or hurt Maryland?
Ralph Friedgen mentioned that in these close situations, his players have confidence. Actually, he called them "cocky." Confidence is always a plus. I don't expect this team who has played in so many pressure situations to be easily rattled on the road in a big game. This team is different than the team that was wowed by the big lights of a Thursday night game against WVU. They will not be affected by the situation tomorrow. In that sense, the team has matured greatly over the season.
On the other hand, the Terps keep putting themselves in these pressure situations. When the Terps were bad, their MO was that they would get a lead and blow it late in the game. They're still blowing leads, just not enough to lose the game. At this final stretch of the season, the Terps cannot do that any more. Their luck is going to wear out. The team has used so much of it that it can't last forever. They lead Miami 14-0 but won 14-13. They lead FSU 27-14 but won 27-24 (on a blocked kick.) Soon or later, one of these teams is going to come back enough to rout the Terps. This is a huge game for both BC and Maryland, so if Maryland gives the momentum to BC, they'll run with it.
FSU lost to Boston College today 24-19, which pretty much ends any chance we had at making it back to the ACC Championship Game in December. It wasn't a loss that was unexpected, but it still stings once it becomes official.
The Eagles' 3 TDs all came thanks to big Seminole mistakes in the first half. Freshman TE Caz Piurowski had a fumble that was returned to the 1-yard line, resulting in BC's first TD. Then FSU had a personal foul roughing the punter that led to their 2nd TD. And as though that wasn't enough, Drew Weatherford threw an interception returned for a TD with less than a minute left in the half to give BC a 21-10 advantage.
The defense played very solid considering how many injuries they have and how many true freshmen started today. BC only scored 3 points in the second half.
The offense almost pulled out a nice comeback in the 4th quarter, but a long drive was stopped deep in BC territory with just over 2:00 left and a last second hail mary was intercepted in the end zone.
I did like the look of the new all-black uniforms we came out with, but unfortunately the tribute to the Seminole tribe of Florida still ended in defeat. It really is ironic since the left leg of the uniforms read "unconquered." I guess the designing of the new gear began last decade sometime and they forgot to make a few updates. Yep, FSU's season really means nothing the rest of the way except for the Florida game. What a disappointing season.
Today's game against Boston College should be quite interesting. If FSU wins, they stay alive for a conference title. Should they lose, their season will be all but over, except of course for the last game of the regular season against the Crocs. Criticism after another loss at home would reach an all-time high. Big-time recruits would really think twice about coming here. Basically, it is pretty freaking important to pull out a W today. Here are some keys that will go a long way to helping this cause.
First, there has to be pressure put on BC's quarterback. It looks like the ACC's leading passer, Matt Ryan, is going to have to sit this one out for the Eagles. This is really good news for the Noles. Honestly, he probably would've picked us apart for most of the day. Instead, sophomore Chris Crane will make his first career start in Doak Campbell Stadium. Do you smell something Rabbit? Fear. We must consistently make Crane feel uncomfortable. FSU is 9th in the conference with only 10 sacks this year. BC has only allowed 6 sacks all season. I don't like the odds of us doing it, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.
Next, don't be stupid. We had 10 penalties for 130-something yards last week -- in the first half! Against Duke! If that happens today, the game won't be close. Taking care of the football falls into this category as well. Dropped passes, people missing assignments, and wasting all of our timeouts early in halves have also plagued this team all season long. All the symptoms of a poorly coached team are glaring. Let's cut down on these mistakes and watch our productivity increase. They go hand-in-hand. Trust me.
If Florida State wants to have any chance at returning to the ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville this season, they cannot afford even one more loss in conference play. That quest continues this weekend against 22nd ranked Boston College. The game will be played in Doak Campbell, but that's not quite the guaranteed victory it used to be.
The Noles are 2-2 in conference games. 4 teams in their division have only 1 loss, headlined by Clemson at 3-1 in ACC play. Since Clemson beat FSU earlier in the year, we can only win the division as long as Clemson finishes with 3 or more conference losses. The same goes for NC State. This is very possible, as Clemson faces 13th ranked Georgia Tech this Saturday night and have to play at Virginia Tech next Saturday night, which is nearly impossible to win at after the sun goes down. NC State has tough games against Georgia Tech and Clemson upcoming.
Now IF Clemson and NC State both somehow finish with at least 3 losses in the conference, this only means something as long as we don't lose any more games. There are 3-way tie-breakers that can give us a shot, but I'm not even going to begin to get into those right now.
Winning our games is the only thing FSU can control right now. We have put ourselves in a very uncomfortable position, but we can't lose sight of the fact that we do still have a chance to make something of our season.
March started days ago. The Madness started Wednesday night. 
There was a time when February belonged to college basketball and the intricate puzzle of creating a 65-team bracket from a list of 340-some-odd candidates.
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Maryland hasn't blown out anyone this year. Every win has been hard fought and close until the end. Except for the West Virginia loss, the losses were close too. It didn't matter if the wins were on the road against strong ACC teams -- Clemson -- or at home against a drained team -- Miami -- the games were close until the end. In fact, the two games I just mentioned were both one point games. So does this style of play help or hurt Maryland?
