Two weeks in a row the Monday Big East Game has ended with a three rimming out at the buzzer. But on the season, the ACC has been the conference for dramatic finishes.
Conference Games Decided by 3 Points or Less or Overtime
47% ACC (15 of 32)
28% Big 12 (8 of 29)
21% Big East (12 of 58)
20% SEC (6 of 30)
11% Pac10 (4 of 36)
10% Big Ten (4 of 39)
Now, this is probably a statistical fluke, but it is contributing to the difficulty in grading the ACC teams. Yes the conference is #1 in RPI, but with no one other than Duke or UNC separating themselves, and with most games coming down to the wire, we probably aren’t going to know which ACC teams get tournament bids until the end of the season. That’s great news for fans of good basketball and bad news for ACC fans looking to avoid ulcers.
Clemson is the perfect example. Clemson’s Terrence Oglesby hit three big 3 pointers in the second overtime of a thrilling victory over Florida St. But against Miami on Sunday Oglesby took several deep and ill-timed threes while watching his team’s lead slip away. Instead it was Jack McClinton hitting three big 3 pointers to lead Miami to a three point win. Meanwhile, senior transfer Matt Causey hit several clutch threes in Georgia Tech’s victory over Virginia Sunday. And all he did was outshoot Sean Singletary who has made more big plays in his career than just about any active ACC player. I guess what I’m saying is that maybe tonight’s Miami at Wake Forest and Florida State at Virginia Tech games don’t sound sexy on paper, but they matter a lot, and if you can catch the last few minutes, you won’t be disappointed. But wait a minute, neither of these games are on Full Court tonight! So you don’t get Big Ten games on Full Court anymore and you don’t get these critical ACC games. The five overtime Baylor vs Texas A&M game wasn’t on TV last week either. What is this package for again?
Cinderalla's Back
Tonight’s game between George Mason and VCU will not only impact the conference race and have bubble ramifications, it also will have a big impact on the final BracketBuster rankings. (The pairing will be announced after this weekend.) The Bracket Board has been keeping track of where teams stand and here are the most recent standings.