ACC "Halfway Home"

When the ACC expanded in 2003, taking Virginia Tech, Miami, and Boston College from the Big East-there was media consensus on two points:  1) That the Big East was finished as a football conference. 2) That Virginia Tech would never finish out of the bottom division in ACC basketball. The great thing about sports is that you never truly know how events will turn out until the games are played.

Now on the heels of a banner showing by the Big East on the gridiron, Virginia Tech has soared to first place in ACC basketball. The Hokies probably won't stay there. Tech has difficult road games at UNC, Boston College, and Virginia  in the second half of the ACC season. But with wins over Duke and Carolina already in the bag, VT at worst, will fare quite well in seeding for the ACC Tournament. This team will win some tie-breakers if the Blue Devils and Tar Heels finish some combination of 1-2, and they likely will.

Duke moved on from Thursday's controversial last second win over Clemson with a solid whipping of Boston College. The Devils last night did not need the extra two seconds they were granted January 25. BC's Eagles scored just nine points over the last ten minutes and fell 75-61.

Clemson on the other hand coughed up a 16 point lead against Virginia. Even if the Tigers were fretting about the overtime they didn't get at Duke. there is no way they can claim a spot among the ACC's elite if they can't put away teams like Virginia at home. Clemson's inability to make free throws (last in the ACC) probably will cost Clemson a top four seed come March in Tampa.

North Carolina this weekend stepped out of the conference in most impressive fashion. The Tar Heels handed Arizona its worst home loss in the Lute Olson era. The Tar Heels held Arizona to 34% shooting even though two of their more important defenders, Brandan Wright and Marcus Ginyard, were out sick.

The only other ACC team that seems to have anything going right now is Virginia. J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary are difficult to press and even tougher to defend on pull up jumpers and shots from beyond the arc. The emergence of Jason Cain as a rebounder and defensive stopper makes Virginia a good bet to finish in the ACC's first division.

Florida State, Maryland, and Georgia Tech, all of whom began the year with high hopes, lack consistency and are running out of time to find it. Miami, NC State, and Wake Forest were expected to struggle. No surprises there.

Next week's UNC-Duke showdown will probably produce the ACC front-runner.  But bear in mind, both schools still have trips to Maryland and Boston College, and another game against each other. And Duke has a rematch with Clemson. Think the Tigers will be motivated? As we all should have learned by now, in sports, there is usually a surprise somewhere.