The Week Ahead

It was a very compelling weekend in the ACC, with a bunch of meaningful games that came right down to the wire.  At the top of the conference, Duke and Carolina both hung on to win tough games.  It was a bit surprising that Duke needed overtime at home to beat Virginia Tech, but they were coming off a very short turnaround.  N.C. State had a very damaging loss, in overtime against Clemson.  Lorenzo Brown missed two critical free throws in the last minute that really hurt State.  Miami, on the other hand, got a very solid and convincing win over Florida State, even without Reggie Johnson.  They may have some issues down the line, though, if Johnson's eligibility issue is not sorted out.

Here are the games ahead during the week:

Tuesday:

Duke at Wake Forest (9:00 p.m., ESPNU)
Duke has played really well on the road this year, and shouldn't have much problem with Wake.  The Demon Deacons got a solid win at home against Boston College, but don't have the talent to stay with Austin Rivers and company.

Wednesday:

Maryland at North Carolina (7:00 p.m., ESPN)
Maryland suffered a tough loss on the road to a bad Georgia Tech team.  They don't stand much of a chance on the road against a North Carolina squad that is fighting for the #1 seed in the ACC.

Georgia Tech at Boston College (7:00 p.m., FSN)
Not much interest in this one except perhaps deciding who will finish last in the league.  Georgia Tech has played better in two of their last three games.  Boston College really laid an egg in their weekend game against Wake Forest.

Miami at N.C. State (9:00 p.m., FSN)
This is an absolutely huge game in terms of bubble implications.  It's basically an NCAA Tournament elimination game, especially if N.C. State loses.  If Miami loses, it's not a disaster but they really need to win this one to bolster their resume.  N.C. State has not won since February 9th - that's not the way to get ready for March Madness.

Thursday:

Florida State at Virginia (7:00 p.m., ESPN2)
This is another big game in the ACC.  Virginia should be in the NCAA Tournament, but really needs to win one of their games this week to feel good.  If you take a look at Virginia's profile, their 21-7 overall record and 8-6 conference record is good.  But their best conference win is either a one point win at N.C. State or a one point win at home against Miami.  They could use a win against a team like Florida State that's pretty much guaranteed to make the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia Tech at Clemson (9:00 p.m., ACC Network)
Clemson continues to put together a strong late season push.  Virginia Tech has also played better ball in the last few games, albeit ending in mostly close losses.  The Hokies survived a late push to beat Clemson in Blacksburg.  I expect this game to go down to the wire too.