The “down” year in ACC basketball got flipped upside down by a vintage dominant March performance by the ACC. ACC teams went a sterling 14-5, The conference had the most or was tied for the most teams in the Sweet 16, Elite 8, and Final 4.
North Carolina made the National Championship game and very nearly beat Kansas in the title game.
The final coaches poll had North Carolina ranked #2, Duke #3, and Miami #16. No conference had more top 3 teams.
After an uneven 2020, where the ACC had only Florida State and Syracuse make the Sweet 16 and a start to the 2021 season that saw the ACC struggle OOC, maybe the conference was headed towards an extended downturn? Not so fast.
After the performance in the NCAA Tournament, and a look ahead. The ACC is prepared to regain its status as college basketball’s premier conference.
What about the other Power 5 conferences?
The Big East is basically Villanova. The Big 10 can’t stop face-planting every March. The Pac 12 isn’t deep enough, and the SEC can’t get anyone past the Sweet 16 except Arkansas no matter highly ranked their teams are.
The Big 12? Well, their teams have won the last 2 national titles.
ACC teams did knock out 3 Big 12 NCAA teams, but we’ll give the Big 12 their due. That’s a strong basketball conference that’s going to remain that way.
Here’s why the ACC is in a great position going forward to be right there among college basketball’s best conferences.
Duke has the #1 recruiting class in the country on the way. Hubert Davis proved he could coach at a high level getting UNC to play their best basketball at the right time and nearly winning a national title. The Heels are recruiting well too.
Duke and North Carolina are going to remain elite team fixtures. Here’s where the depth of the ACC will come into play.
Do you think Tony Bennett and Virginia won’t return to top 25 status? What about Leonard Hamilton and Florida State? They’ll be fine. They had a ton of injuries and could have a Miami 2022 resurgence.
Virginia Tech and Wake Forest are trending upwards. The Hokies are your reigning ACC Champions. Louisville simply won’t stay down long. I like the hire of Kenny Payne.
Jim Boeheim isn’t leaving Syracuse without another NCAA run. You can’t underestimate Miami’s, Jim Larranaga ever.
The ACC could very well have 7-8 NCAA teams next year.
The ACC down in basketball? Yea for about 18 months…
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