GREENSBORO – Even without self-banished Syracuse and its famous defense, the 62nd ACC Tournament has been in the zone from almost the moment it tipped off Tuesday with two one-point games between the four worst teams in the conference.
As the ACC bids adieu for four years to the Greensboro Coliseum, which has staged this event 26 times over 48 years through two roof-lifting renovations (1971 and 1995) and 234 games, there is still plenty familiar about a venue that has hosted eight schools (1967, 1971, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1988); seven schools after South Carolina dropped out (1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978 and 1979); then nine when Florida State joined (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2004); an even dozen when Miami, Virginia Tech and BC signed on (2006, 2010, 2011, 2012) and, finally, fifteen schools (2014) with the addition of Notre Dame, Pitt and Syracuse.
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For the record, the ACC had 11 members for one season (2005, after Miami and Va. Tech joined but before BC) and that tournament was played in Washington, DC. Of course, this season it includes teams from 14 schools after Louisville replaced Maryland because Syracuse is sitting out a self-imposed probation.
The first 13 ACC Tournaments (with the eight charter members) were played at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh until the ACC coaches successfully got it moved off N.C. State’s home court.
Enough history.
Six originals remain in the ACC (Clemson, Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia and Wake Forest). And when in Greensboro, fans from those schools have the advantage of commuting to each round or driving over to see if they can score tickets outside the coliseum. For tonight’s semifinals, the street tariff will be at least three times the face value (between $60 and $80) for the double header.
Brice Johnson was fired up Thursday afternoon (Todd Melet)
In Thursday’s quarterfinals, five ranked teams played in the four games. Tonight all four teams are in the top 20, from No. 2 Duke to No. 19 Carolina. Two networks (Raycom in the ACC footprint and ESPN nationally) will broadcast what is must-see TV. Virginia and Duke are favored to advance to a rematch of last year’s ACC championship game – but I wouldn’t bet heavily on that.
Zones or zone-like defenses have played a major part in the tournament so far.
Virginia’s pack line defense embodies the principals of both zone and man-to-man because the Cavaliers move with the ball like a zone but make passing as well as penetration very difficult. Louisville played zone the entire game and UNC went to it for the last 27 minutes, turning a 10-point deficit into a 10-point victory. Duke extended its half court zone pressure to prevent State point guard Cat Barber (who had 34 points against Pitt Wednesday night) from driving, dishing or scoring. The Cat missed all seven of his shots, never got to the foul line and went from 34 to a bagel against the Blue Devils. And Miami erased an 18-point halftime deficit to Notre Dame with some wacky zone that kept the Irish without a field goal through the first 12 minutes of the second half before barely surviving.
Duke is Duke and playing the best of all four teams, with 12 straight victories since throwing Rasheed Sulaimon off the team. Instead of a depth problem, the bad-boy banishment has given more minutes to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-men Matt Jones, Grayson Allen and Marshall Plumlee and all have flourished behind what is arguably the best starting lineup in the country.
The Blue Devils are a true phenomenon, embodying its ideal that Duke is not for everyone. Hell, the word DUKE is white on their white uniforms, outlined with a thin blue border. The message is subtle but clear; if you don’t know who we are, that’s your problem. Duke has won an ACC high of 19 ACC Tournaments, eight in this coliseum between 1986 and 2011. The Blue Devils’ only concern is in the foreseeable future – if all three of their freshman stars, Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones, turn pro along with senior Quinn Cook, they lose four starters. Next season will require a major overhaul.
Carolina continues its schizoid season from game to game and within games. Roy Williams had a hissy fit in the first half, pulling off his sport coat and slinging it behind the bench before calling a timeout and blistering Brice Johnson and J.P. Tokoto for careless and lazy play. But the Tar Heels got more movement inside the Louisville zone in the second half to shoot 50 percent from the floor and their own 2-3 zone held a Louisville team that had shot 52 percent in the first half to 22 percent in the second. The game changer.
The absolutely coolest thing occurred at halftime of the game when the Coliseum showed a tribute to Dean Smith that most UNC fans have already seen. The building was dead silent while everyone watched, and fans wearing shirts other than Carolina blue were mesmerized by the video.
The Tar Heels take on Virginia in the first semifinal, a team that has no more talent but far more smarts. They will have to have their best 40 minutes of the season to make the championship game, which has been moved back to Saturday night for the first time in 24 years.
Notre Dame, which has already beaten Duke once this season, can either turn the Coliseum completely light blue or have a part in creating the first non-Big Four final in 25 years, or since Georgia Tech defeated Virginia in 1990 before a less-than-enthusiastic crowd at the Old Charlotte Coliseum on Tyvola. Or it could be Duke-Carolina III, with the Tar Heels trying to make up for losing second-half leads twice to the Blue Devils.
If that would happen, it would mark the 12th such meeting for the ACC championship. The Tar Heels lead in those games 6-5. They would be wearing their road blues for being the fifth seed. Second-seeded Duke would be in white with the name that’s barely discernible. But you already know who they are.
By the time the ACC Tournament returns to Greensboro in 2020 after stops in Washington, Brooklyn for two years and Charlotte, and with Hall of Fame coaches well into their 60’s, who knows what the greatest rivalry in college basketball will look like. Maybe not different at all because, after all, it’s still the ACC on Tobacco Road at its core.
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