ACC in the Postseason

All year long, the talk from the experts was that the ACC was down. The respect (or lack thereof) given to the conference this weekend is a representation of that statement. Only 7 of the 12 teams made any sort of postseason play, with just 4 in the NCAA Tournament. The season is over for Maryland, Virginia, NC State, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. The other 7 play on. Here's a look at their next games:

NCAA Tournament

Clemson vs. UAB (Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. in Dayton) - It's a good news/bad news situation for Clemson. The good news is they made the tournament in Brad Brownell's first year. The bad news is that Clemson has to play in the play-in game, and if they win, they have to turn around and play early on Thursday in Tampa. I do think Clemson is a better team than UAB, and they should win this one to set up a matchup with West Virginia.

Duke vs. Hampton (Friday, 3:10 p.m. in Charlotte) - Duke was rewarded with a 1 seed and two games in Charlotte. They shouldn't have much trouble with a Hampton team that lost at Wake Forest by 7 in the first game of the year.

Florida State vs. Texas A&M (Friday, 4:10 p.m. in Chicago) - This is a very interesting 7/10 matchup. It looks like Florida State will have Chris Singleton available to play. They will have what likely will be a low-scoring affair against a Texas A&M team that won 13 straight games earlier this year but hasn't been playing its best ball lately.

North Carolina vs. Long Island (Friday, 7:15 p.m. in Charlotte) - Tar Heel fans have to be a little nervous after the Heels' performance in the ACC Tournament. They didn't play anywhere near their potential in those three games. Whether they can put it all together could mean the difference between a second round exit and a final four run. Regardless, they will win this game.

NIT

Boston College at McNeese State (Tuesday, 9:00 p.m.) - Boston College got a 1 seed in the NIT, but for some reason are playing in Louisiana at McNeese State. I can only assume that the Conte Forum was booked on Tuesday night. McNeese State finished first in the Southland Conference. They lost all their games against power conference teams, including a 20 point loss at Miami.

Florida Atlantic at Miami (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.) - Florida Atlantic will make the short drive down I-95 to Miami to take on the Hurricanes. It's curious that Miami got in the NIT instead of Maryland. Regardless, they have a chance to gain some momentum heading into next year. Florida Atlantic won 13 games in the Sun Belt and won at Mississippi State early in the year.

Bethune-Cookman at Virginia Tech (Wednesday, 8:00 p.m.) - Obviously the biggest question going into this one is motivation: will Virginia Tech's players really be up for an NIT matchup against a team from the Mid-Eastern Conference? Bethune-Cookman did well in conference, but lost to Arizona by 34 and Baylor by 44.