ACC Bold, Fold and Gold...

The Atlantic Coast Conference will proudly state throughout the weekend that theirs was the first and best college basketball conference tournament and theirs is the best of the league tourneys. While the luster has been lost a little with league expansion--this tournament is still the Boardwalk and Park Place of college hoops.

As is the case just about every year, there are a few schools competing for top seeds (North Carolina and Duke) plus more than a few scrambling for at-large berths (Boston College, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Miami). Plenty of thrills, chills and spills to go around.

BOLD: Boston College has always played well in the ACC's...from it's run to the finals in 2006 to the Eagles' first round upset of Maryland last March. Tyrese Rice is the type of guard that can take over two or three straight games--averaging 17 points and 5 assists a game. BC's first round opponent Virginia appears to have fired its late-season bullet with their win over Maryland--and the Eagles match up well with Duke (BC beat the Blue Devils 80-74 February 15th).


FOLD: Wake Forest has been inconsistent this winter (they followed up a win over Duke with a loss to Georgia Tech)...they're young (Jeff Teague and James Johnson are sophomores while Al-Farouq Aminu is a freshman)...and not in as desperate shape as Maryland--the Terps needing two wins to solidify their at large hopes...or as ACC Tourney karmic as North Carolina State-the Wolfpack have recently turned March runs into a cottage industry (1997, 2007). Wake beat Maryland by two and split with NC State.


GOLD: North Carolina and Duke--no two schools more define their league with the exception of Ohio State and Michigan in football. The Tar Heels and Blue Devils have combined to win 11 of the last 12 ACC Tournaments--although the last UNC-Duke title clash was in 2001. This year the two titans tangle...with the hungrier Blue Devils taking advantage of the Heels recurring ADD (Boston College, Maryland). Duke cuts down the nets.