PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – What we’ve learned from the NCAA Tournament is that only three teams in all of Division 1 would finish as high as sixth in the ACC regular season.
We heard in the aftermath and even a little before NCAA Selection Sunday of how down the ACC was. Those left to explain the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee decisions said it was a big reason why Pitt and Wake Forest didn’t make the field. The ACC stinks.
It was explained to us about NET rankings and KenPom and strength of schedule and likely college basketball polls as indicators of who were the best teams in college basketball. What was proven as the NCAA Tournament played out, it was bad math.
Here is a new math, which is the only math that really matters, wins. The SEC and ACC proved to be the best conferences in college basketball. UConn looks like the best team, but those continuing to justify their opinions by doubting the ACC are dodging, again, the only significant factor, wins.
NET ranking seems to be a major indicator of selection qualification. The Mountain West conference had four teams placed in the top 34 of their rankings. There were two ACC teams ranked in the top 34 of their rankings. How did that play out?
There were seven Big 12 teams ranked in the top 34. I will grant you Houston dealt with a devasting injury that likely impacted their run. How did BYU, Baylor, Kansas, Texas Tech and Texas do?
These conferences were propped up by a false belief of their depth and as they played each other, it only built upon itself. Oh, look Kansas State lost to 12-win Oklahoma State, that must mean the conference is great so let’s boost the Wildcats. Texas lost to nine-win West Virginia, wow look at how crazy good the Big 12 is.
Meanwhile in the ACC, a win at Florida State, Syracuse or NC State, for example, didn’t count for much because, well, the ACC is down. It’s only a two-bid league some experts were saying. Then there was talk it became a three-bid league because Elite 8 team Clemson was screwed last year. The ironic part is the one team that was picked most on its history was the team even those in the conference would say didn’t belong at the end of the season, Virginia.
I don’t blame the messengers-Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports or Joe Lunardi of ESPN.
None of them sit in that room and make a play for teams to get in or out. If the committee is impacted by what experts say prior to the selections, then shame on the individual committee members.
This disbelief in the ACC remains puzzling. Next year we’ll probably hear more as RJ Davis, Blake Hinson, Armando Bacot, DJ Horne, Kyle Filipowski and others move on to pro ball. The ACC split its conference challenge against the SEC, a conference that got nine teams in the tournament. There will likely be good conference road wins that will only be a ‘Quad 3’ or worse designations.
There is one conference that has double-digit wins in the NCAA Tournament in 2024 despite only getting five in the field. Can we not have this controversy next March and realize more ACC teams deserve a shot? It’s the conference that performed the best, by far, on the court.
NC State finished sixth in the ACC and only got in by winning the ACC Tournament. What does it say about the strength of the conference?