Week Preview

Another week is in the books, and some teams are starting to creep into contention, somewhat surprisingly. I'm talking specifically about Clemson and Maryland, who might be playing their way into tournament berths. Clemson got a come from behind win at home against NC State, and then blew out Florida State at home on Saturday. They still haven't shown an ability to win on the road, but seem to be putting things together under first year coach Brad Brownell.

Maryland has really improved since a blowout home loss to Virginia Tech, with wins over Clemson, at Virginia and at Georgia Tech. The last two were both by double digits. Maryland's big chance comes on Wednesday with a home game against Duke. Win that and they are most likely on the "in" side of the bubble. Here are the games on the ACC slate:

Tuesday:
Wake Forest at Florida State (7:00 p.m.) - If Florida State doesn't win this game they are in serious trouble. But it shouldn't be a problem.
UNC at Boston College (9:00 p.m.) - This is a good test for a Boston College team that has not looked very good in its last two games. UNC has improved and with a win here could be in very good shape for a top 4 finish in the league.

Wednesday:
Virginia Tech at NC State (7:00 p.m.) - The Hokies got a much-needed win against Miami and need to put the Georgia Tech game in the mirror with a road win against a NC State team that is really struggling right now. The Wolfpack's performance against UNC was terrible.
Clemson at UVA (9:00 p.m.) - This is a chance for Clemson to build its resume for the tournament. For UVA, they need a confidence boost after a bad loss at Wake Forest.
Duke at Maryland (9:00 p.m.) - As I said before, this is a huge opportunity for Maryland. Unfortunately for them, they are catching Duke at the wrong time, after the Devils lost in embarrassing fashion to St. John's.

Thursday:
Georgia Tech at Miami (7:00 p.m.) - Not a lot of interest in this game. Definitely a must-win for Miami after a series of really tough losses.

Saturday:
Clemson at Georgia Tech (1:00 p.m.) - The schedulers weren't kind to Georgia Tech this week. They have a very tough turnaround to an early game on Saturday. A good chance for Clemson to pick up a road win.
Virginia Tech at Boston College (1:00 p.m.) - Depending on how Tech's game with NC State goes, this could end up being a very big game for both teams. BC has been pretty good at home, in what is not a very intimidating home atmosphere.
Wake Forest at Maryland (1:00 p.m.) - I give Wake credit for winning this past weekend, but they aren't going to win games like this.
Virginia at Miami (2:00 p.m.) - The good news for the Hurricanes is you can't get a much easier week than what they have. The bad news is they sit at 1-6 in the conference.
NC State at Duke (6:00 p.m.) - If NC State plays up to its potential, they can stay with Duke, even at Cameron. If they play like they did in Chapel Hill last week, they will be blown out of the gym.

Sunday:
Florida State at UNC (2:00 p.m.) - The annual pre-Super Bowl ACC game is a good matchup. Florida State needs a good performance on the road, and may catch UNC looking ahead to their big game next week against Duke.