Championship week continues with one Big East bubble already bursting (Syracuse)... Georgetown plays the winner of that game this afternoon; the Hoyas nipped Villanova 55-53 after Jonathan Wallace sunk a pair of free throws after being fouled 80 feet away from the basket with a tenth of a second remaining. One of the keys to that victory was holding the Wildcats to 13 percent shooting in the second half--and oh-for-13 after intermission from three point range. While containing Scottie Reynolds is a priority-- the Hoyas need to continue to improve on the boards (they outrebounded Louisville last Saturday-- just the second time they've won on the glass in eight games).
While Georgetown's NCAA berth is assured regardless of how the Hoyas fare this weekend, Maryland faces more than one must-win game this weekend--the Terps enter the ACC Tournament at 18-13 and just one school has received an at-large bid with 14 losses since 1991 (Georgia in 2001 went 16-14 with one of the nation's toughest schedules). Maryland meets a Boston College team that's lost six straight--but has the league's second leading scorer in Tyrese Rice (47 points a few weeks ago against North Carolina). Can the Terps regain the swagger, offensive precision and defensive focus present during the stretch where they went 7-2? One major key is keeping James Gist and Bambale Osby out of early foul trouble-- without the duo down low Maryland's offense bogs down into a turnover-machine.
Looking at the ACC Tournament:
Bold Pick-- I'm tempted to take North Carolina State...since the league expanded to 12 teams the conference's last place team has scored upsets over the 5th seed. But seriously, the Wolfpack have dropped eight straight (4 of the last 5 by double-digits) and they're playing red-hot Miami. The Hurricanes have won 6 of 8 and are led by sharpshooter Jack McClinton (3rd in the ACC in 3-point shooting)...after the sad-sack Wolfpack they would have a quarterfinal matchup with Virginia Tech (Canes beat the Hokies in Blacksburg during the regular season).
Fold Pick-- last year Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Tech all lost sooner than expected... who disappoints this year? Clemson has never fared well in the ACC (the Tigers are the only original school yet to win the title) and over the last two weeks they've escaped Virginia Tech by one at home, lost at Georgia Tech and needed a miracle comeback at Maryland. The Tigers' luck runs out before a decent NCAA run.
Gold Pick-- The question this winter has been-- can anyone hang with North Carolina and Duke? After last Saturday the question becomes-- can even the Blue Devils hang with the Tar Heels? Not only is this team the most talented, they're playing much harder defensively and have a much higher focus (the only slip up coming in January to Maryland)-- and while Tyler Hansborough inside and Ty Lawson outside are the primary reasons for success, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green provide perfect peripheral options. After going nine years between ACC Tournament titles, Roy Williams' bunch cuts down the nets for a second straight March.
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