Weekend Preview

The ACC continues to confound, and not in a good way.  This week there was an excellent game between Duke and Virginia, and a whole lot of garbage.  The top three teams continue to separate themselves, and it is looking more like whoever finishes fourth will finish there by default.  Florida State and Virginia Tech played one of the worst games you will ever see - neither one of those teams look like they are going anywhere.  NC State somehow lost at home to Georgia Tech in a game that wasn't even that close.  And Clemson followed up their big win over Florida State by losing to hapless Boston College.  The end of that game was a comedy of errors.

So moving on, here's a look at the games this weekend.  Miami and Virginia have the weekend off.

Saturday:

NC State at Wake Forest (1:00 p.m., ACC Network)
NC State had a golden opportunity to get off to a really good start in conference, but ruined that with a home loss to Georgia Tech.  Wake showed a little fight in a road loss at Maryland.  NC State has more talent, but it wouldn't surprise me if they lost this game.

UNC at Florida State (2:00 p.m., ESPN)
This looked like a much more attractive matchup before the season started.  Florida State just doesn't have enough offensive firepower to compete with the Heels.  If they turn it over 20 times, like they have been, they could get blown out of the gym.

Virginia Tech at Boston College (3:00 p.m., FSN)
A couple weeks ago, this looked like an automatic win for Virginia Tech.  They should still win, but they have to play better than they played last week at Wake Forest.  Boston College is still inept but found a way to win a conference game, which some people thought wouldn't happen at all this year.

Sunday:

Georgia Tech at Maryland (4:00 p.m., ACC Network)
Georgia Tech has definitely shown an improvement in the last two games, and has a chance on the road at Maryland.  The Terps were up and down in their win over Wake, and is still looking to find some consistency.  This will probably be a competitive but ugly game.

Duke at Clemson (6:00 p.m., ESPNU)
Clemson played well at home last weekend, but erased all that good feeling with their performance last night in Chestnut Hill.  Duke isn't quite playing like a top 10 team right now but I can't see them laying an egg and losing to Clemson.  Coach K will have them ready to play.

Final Thoughts:

Right now it seems like the gap between North Carolina and Duke is larger than the gap between Duke and Virginia.  The Cavaliers might lose a game they shouldn't, but they have a real shot at finishing with an ACC record like 12-4 or 11-5.  Besides the top three, who has played two good games in a row?  The closest candidate is probably Georgia Tech.  And who would have thought that a couple weeks ago?
It's hard to not be doom and gloom about the ACC this year, but so far teams have not stepped up to the plate and advertised that they want to be considered for the NCAA Tournament.  Let's hope that starts to happen in the next couple weeks.