The Landscape of the ACC

Last night I caught my first glimpse of the Maryland Terrapins in a little bit, and let me just say that as a fan I was none too pleased with the results. Last night's 69-65 loss to the suddenly scorching University of Virginia Cavaliers leaves them in a precarious position for the third straight year.

They're officially on the verge of their third straight NIT appearance.

There are some programs that live for an invite to any post season play. For example, if the Towson Tigers made it to the NIT, that would be a tremendous accomplishment for a mid-major program on the rise. For the Terps, an appearance in the NIT would be considered a failure.

I never thought I'd say this in a million years as a devoted Maryland fan, but it may be time for them to consider other options at the head coaching position.

Gary Williams' grace period is close to expiring. His Terps won it all in 2001-2002 (my freshman year in college, laugh-out-loud). They followed that up with a sweet sixteen showing and an ACC tournament championship. There's no written rule, but there should be a de facto one about failure to maintain success level. Since that 2003-2004 season, the Terps have failed to reach the NCAA Tournament. In fact, they haven't even won the NIT.

It's not like his teams haven't been talented. Last year's seniors were tabbed as one of his best classes ever when they initially committed, and this year's bunch of seniors were considered the second best recruiting class at the time (Florida State's was number one that year).

But, for whatever reason he's failed to get anything out of that talent. He can't relate to his players like he was once able to. For the past three seasons they've shown flashes of brilliance, but they've also been wildly inconsistent. Despite their 17-7 record, this season might be the worst display of that.

Don't get me wrong. Williams has done a great deal for the University of Maryland. Over the years he's created a great atmosphere in College Park. It's just that his magic doesn't seem to be working anymore. Hopefully the players on Maryland's team read this and prove me wrong, and I want them to succeed. I'm just not going to get my hopes up like I did the previous two seasons.


The above rant takes nothing away from Virginia, who like I said has been on a tear and suddenly stands alone atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Who honestly could have predicted that?

Honestly?

I figured the North Carolina Tar Heels would have this thing wrapped up by now, with their NBA quality depth and fiery head coach Roy Williams. I still think that they're by far and away the best team in the conference, but the fact that at press time they're not in first place is surprising.

Tonight's game against Duke is going to be huge. I read in today's Baltimore Sun that it's only the fifth time in 30 years that both teams head into the vaunted rivalry coming off of a loss. That's amazing.

In terms of analysis, I will basically repeat what I told one of my co-workers yesterday. If I was Duke's starting point guard and my two and a half foot daughter was in the pivot, it would still be a close game. Year in and year out, no matter how much the rosters have changed, Duke is still nearly unbeatable at home... and it's a huge rivalry game, so that makes it double.

I know the Blue Devils are a far cry from the successful teams of their past, but do you think Coach K is going to let them lose this game? I've got Duke by eight over Carolina.

We'll see if I'm right.