ACC Bombs in the NCAA

They're all gone but one, and I can say that I'm not a bit surprised.

Seven Atlantic Coast Conference basketball teams were invited to the NCAA tournament -- more than any other conference -- and after just two rounds, only North Carolina remains.

Duke and Georgia Tech were eliminated after the first round, while Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Boston College bit the dust after two rounds.

The ACC did a lot of campaigning this year to get more teams into the tournament. The league publicity machine was in constant spin. They threw out there at every opportunity the league's RPI and strength of schedules etc, etc, etc to prove their case. It was brought up as often as dew in the summertime how the league was gypped last season with just four bids. It worked, and some even thought the ACC deserved more than seven.

Duke's Mike Krzyzewski talked at almost every news conference he had about how tough it was to win in the league. He wasn't the only one, and they were right about that. It was tough because there was parity in the ACC, but what all that equality meant was a paucity of stand-out teams.

If you watched the ACC enough this season, it was very easy to see that some pretty good teams did beat up on each other regularly. But only North Carolina, which bungled their way into tying Virginia for the regular-season crown, had Final Four potential.

And the Tar Heels, with their boatload of high school All-Americans and now with six straight wins, do seem to be putting it together as they venture into the Sweet 16.

So, as the old saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. The first two rounds prove that.

The ACC was interesting this season. It was enjoyable. It was OK.