The Big Four are ACC tournament bracket busters.
Have you ever seen a tournament that looks like this one, the top four seeds having two from Virginia, one from Georgia and the other from Florida? The uneven ACC has gone COVID crazy.
Virginia is holding onto the top seed like Duke and Carolina used to, with its fifth first place finish under Tony Bennett. That, in itself, continues to confound, considering the Cavaliers were a doormat of the conference before TB’s rebuilding job.
Florida State missed its chance for a second straight top seed, last year of course never happening because the tournament was wiped out by the encroaching coronavirus. The Seminoles lost their grip by losing at Notre Dame Saturday, a sign the Fighting Irish might be getting hot at the right time.
Virginia Tech is the third seed and my pick to lose its quarterfinal game Thursday to Carolina. The Hokies (along with Louisville and BC) played the fewest ACC games, 13, and missed some likely losses. So they are more a stale pretender than a true contender.
And Georgia Tech. Are the Yellow Jackets a legit double-bye earner with the fourth seed? They finished 11-6 after winning their last six games, but wound up in Virginia’s side of the bracket, probably having to beat the Cavaliers after Clemson to get to the title game.
The Big Four seeding would make coaches named Bubas, Case, McKinney and Smith roll over in their graves. The Tar Heels are the sixth seed, improvement from last year’s No. 14, but the victim of missing home games against Clemson, Miami, Virginia Tech and a road trip to last place Boston College. Carolina has a chance to play itself into a position to win if it can get by the Notre Dame-Wake Forest winner on opening night. N.C. State is a dangerous 9th seed since the Pack won its last five games of the regular season. Duke is among the lowest seeds for the first time since conference expansion, facing a five-game challenge for the title, and Wake Forest is 13th.
The good news is the tournament is in Greensboro, where Big Four teams have dominated the event over the years. Bad news is it will not have a coliseum full of fans, which has helped their success immeasurably. To say it’s wide open is rash understatement.
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