Fair or not doesn’t it seem we’ve started to define a successful basketball season by how far teams go in the NCAA tournament. While that’s certainly important, letting that be the only criteria for success short changes a lot of good work during a season, especially as one trying as this year.
For the 4 ACC teams that lost on Day 1 of the NCAA tournament – how successful were the seasons?
Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets went down to Loyola – Chicago in their opening game 71-60. While the loss was disappointing, it’s hard to call the Yellow Jacket’s season other than a rousing success. Georgia Tech hadn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2010, and won the ACC Tournament title for the first time 1993. Georgia Tech had the POY in Moses Wright, and DPOY in Jose Alvarado. That’s more hardware that went on Georgia Tech’s trophy case in one season than the previous ten. Josh Pastner had to make the NCAA tournament in year 5 and that’s what he did.
Season – Rousing Success
Virginia Tech
The Hokies were the pre-season #11 team in the ACC. They ended up finishing 3rd in the ACC and Mike Young won the ACC COY award. They also beat a fully equipped Villanova team back in December. While the loss to Florida was frustrating, the season was still a success for the Hokies. After the departure of Buzz Williams, we wondered ,if Virginia Tech basketball might slip. Mike Young hasn’t let happen. The Hokies only played four games after February 6, so that’s tough to keep a team sharp.
Season – Definite Success
North Carolina
When you are a blue-blood like North Carolina, you don’t expect first round exits from the NCAA Tournament. Actually it’s never happened to Roy Williams. You could argue this season was a disappointment at UNC, but maybe it wasn’t as bad you think. Last year the Heels had their worst season under Roy Williams, and certainly would have missed the NCAA Tournament. This year the Heels got back to some semblance of relevance, even after an ugly loss to Wisconsin. We all knew the UNC guards were a question mark, and hey it could have been worse. The Heels could have been Duke or Kentucky. Let’s call this season a relative success for UNC.
Season – Relative Success
Clemson
The Tigers are the toughest to gauge. Before the middle of January, Clemson had already beat Alabama, Maryland, Purdue, and Florida State. Then a COVID pause hit Clemson, the Tiger got hammered in games against Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Florida State. The Tigers played better the rest of the way, but never could regain their form from early in the season. What has to be frustrating for Clemson fans is the finish. Winnable post-season games were lost against Miami in the ACC Tournament, and Rutgers at the NCAAs. The Rutgers loss was especially painful. Clemson was the higher seed, and played with surprising lack of energy much of the game. In a vacuum whenever Clemson makes the NCAA Tournament the season should be considered a success, but there is certainly a sour taste in the mouth of Clemson fans – who now wonder is this the ceiling for Brad Brownell after more than 10 years at Clemson?
Season – Relative Success
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