ACC Tournament Preview: Final


You can't ask for much more from a semifinal Saturday than what we got in the ACC.  Two games that came down to the final buzzer.  N.C. State fans will probably still be grumpy today after a controversial ending to yesterday's game against Carolina.  Kendall Marshall's basket that put the Heels ahead could have come with a charge call, but the refs let it go.  In my opinion, the refs had to call something.  With that much contact, you have to blow the whistle and make a call one way or the other.  Anyway, the Heels move on and the Wolfpack sit and wait to see if they are in the NCAA Tournament.  This reminds me of what happened to Virginia Tech a few years ago, when they lost to Tyler Hansbrough and the Heels at the buzzer and then were left out of the Big Dance.


The other semifinal was an interesting game between Duke and Florida State.  There aren't many games in the ACC Tournament that I can remember where it felt like Duke was the underdog, like this one.  Florida State seemed to be in control for much of the game, but Duke still had a chance.  Austin Rivers took a very ill-advised shot at the end and Florida State survived what is one of the worst inbounds passes I've ever seen.


#1 North Carolina vs. #3 Florida State (1:00 p.m.)


That sets up a great matchup for the ACC Tournament finals.  Everyone knows what happened the first time these two teams played.  And whatever happens today, I can say with certainty that Florida State will not win by 33 points again.  This stat baffles my mind: since 1997, there has only been one season where North Carolina or Duke didn't win the ACC Tournament.  That was Maryland in 2004.  That means out of the 12 teams in the league, the same two schools have won 14 out of 15 titles (Duke has 10, North Carolina 4).  No other conference has even close to the same dominance by two schools.


It's been mentioned a few times on the broadcast this week, but Florida State has to feel like, if there's any year that they have a chance of winning an ACC Tournament title, this is it.  They have a balanced offense to go with their suffocating defense.  And they've already beaten Carolina.  Plus John Henson may not play.  However, even without John Henson, Carolina clearly has more talent.  Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and Kendall Marshall are all better than the best player on Florida State.  And you have to think Roy Williams has hammered home how embarrassing that loss was in Tallahassee.  I think the better talent shines through and the Tar Heels cut down the nets.
Pick: North Carolina