{"id":110723,"date":"2024-12-05T13:22:18","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T18:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=110723"},"modified":"2024-12-05T13:22:45","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T18:22:45","slug":"acc-sec-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/05\/acc-sec-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"ACC\/SEC Challenge Spells Nightmare on ACC Street"},"content":{"rendered":"

The SEC was favored to win many matchups in the SEC\/ACC Challenge, but the ACC had several key matchups<\/a> that could provide them with statement wins. They were able to win two of the five matchups. In an unexpected twist, the ACC lost every single other game. Going 2-14 certainly hurts the ACC moving forward. However, is there any bright side to a set of nights where the ACC loses big? Simply put, the ACC will have their work cut out for them if they wish to turn this event into a turning point.<\/p>\n

ACC\/SEC Challenge Spells Nightmare on ACC Street<\/h2>\n

ACC Loses Big: Lower-Tier Teams All Lost<\/h3>\n

Teams like Boston College and Georgia Tech weren’t expected to win. Miami played a tough Arkansas team well, and Syracuse had arguably the most lop-sided matchup in the entire event in a road game against Tennessee. The problem lies within the fact that every single one lost. Miami led most of the way but couldn’t hold on. California blew a 16-point halftime lead against Missouri to lose. Virginia Tech fought hard only to lose at home to Vanderbilt. The ACC had several opportunities to grind out a win, but they failed in every instance.<\/p>\n

So why does this matter? To take a bid from another conference in the NCAA tournament, a conference needs to show that the lower teams in their conference can hold their own. There were difficult matchups for the ACC, and it is clear that the SEC is the best and deepest conference in college basketball. However, to lose every single game at the bottom is an indictment on the conference as a whole. The only hope is that enough teams take the difficult week and turn that into strong showings in the rest of the non-conference slate.<\/p>\n

ACC Loses Big: Middle-Tier Teams All Lost<\/h3>\n

The ACC power rankings<\/a> are subjective, but there is a clear divide in the middle of the conference. At least, that’s what many people perceived. Once again, the ACC was given opportunities to pick up key wins against the SEC, and they lost. Louisville looked hopeless, NC State couldn’t close out Texas, Virginia went on an expected long scoring drought, and Wake Forest could only muster 44 points against Texas A&M. Most of the games weren’t even close, which is another point of emphasis.<\/p>\n

The better conferences thrive on depth. The SEC proved why they likely will compete with the Big East in 2011 for the most bids in the NCAA tournament from a single conference. For years, the ACC thrived on this same depth to establish itself as a power. There is no depth like that now. This version of the ACC has more depth than years past, but they didn’t show it during the SEC\/ACC Challenge. Moving forward, there are several games for these teams to pick up key wins. If the ACC loses big again, it will be an insurmountable hill for the bubble teams to climb.<\/p>\n

ACC Loses Big: Contenders Get Blown Out<\/h3>\n

Pittsburgh has been one of the few bright spots for the ACC this season. Naturally, that led to the Panthers losing by more points than any other team in the event. Pitt was beaten early and often by a Mississippi State team that wanted the win more than Pittsburgh. The Panthers appeared to give up after a tough stretch in the first half. Pitt will still likely compete for an ACC title and a tournament bid, but they will need to figure out their defensive woes and hope Damian Dunn<\/a> recovers quickly from his injury. Pitt enters the easiest stretch of their schedule. It is not hyperbole to say that the ACC needs Pitt to win each of their next five games to set up a pivotal matchup against Duke in January.<\/p>\n

North Carolina had a more difficult matchup than Pitt, but they had the luxury of playing at home. The Tar Heels still lost by 15 and never looked like a threat to win the game. Alabama dominated them on the offensive side of the ball. One can learn a lesson from North Carolina: if you shoot 18% from three for a game, you shouldn’t take 28 threes. It truly is a mind-blowing lesson, but one that teams can learn from. North Carolina still has two more quality opponents to pick up key wins. Losses in both would likely put North Carolina in the same position they were in two seasons ago: on the bubble.<\/p>\n

The One Bright Side<\/h3>\n

While two contenders looked terrible, the other two contenders asserted themselves with top-five wins on their home courts. Clemson held the high-flying Kentucky offense to only 66 points, and Duke figured out Auburn on both sides of the ball. Kon Knueppel<\/a>‘s continued struggles are worrisome, but the depth of Duke showed. Isaiah Evans<\/a> single-handedly put the team on his back in the first half despite not playing a single important minute before Wednesday. The balanced attack allowed the Blue Devils to top the previously unstoppable Tigers.<\/p>\n

Clemson got their key win. While the Tigers struggled in their first test, they passed their most difficult one with flying colors. Ian Schieffelin<\/a> attempted 20 shots, shot only 20% from the field, and grabbed 20 rebounds. It certainly was an interesting day, but it all mattered. They were able to bring Kentucky into the slug-fest and pull out a win. The Tigers have another game against Memphis, but it looks like Clemson now has a non-conference resume that sets themselves up for the NCAA Tournament. The ACC is happy with these big wins. It almost negates a small portion of their big losses.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/h3>\n

It was an abysmal two days for the ACC. However, the season is not lost. SMU didn’t play in the event and still will compete for an NCAA Tournament bid. Pitt has plenty of opportunities to right the ship, and they are still ranked 12 in the NET rankings<\/a> following the blowout loss. Louisville is still in the thick of things with a rival Kentucky on the schedule in December. The season is not over.<\/p>\n

It is natural: the ACC loses big, and the national media writes them off entirely. However, the ACC has plenty of opportunities to right the ship. There is still one major problem: we are far enough into the season to recognize that the ACC will not be getting a huge boost in tournament bids. I would predict that the ACC will get between three and seven teams into the tournament. North Carolina is not guaranteed a spot. Teams like Louisville, SMU, and Florida State are also in the hunt for bids.<\/p>\n

One month into the season, the ACC has reasons to be hopeful. However, the SEC put them in their place. It’s all in the response. If the ACC rolls over, this could be a three-bid league. If they come out ready to win, they could earn up to seven bids. It certainly was a nightmare on ACC Street, but that opens the opportunity for dreaming big.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The SEC was favored to win many matchups in the SEC\/ACC Challenge, but the ACC had several key matchups that could provide them with statement wins. They were able to win two of the five matchups. In an unexpected twist, the ACC lost every single other game. Going 2-14 certainly hurts the ACC moving forward. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5370,"featured_media":110755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773],"tags":[3120,1457,861,847,882,914,49588,1436,3249],"class_list":["post-110723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","tag-acc-basketball","tag-clemson-tigers","tag-duke-blue-devils","tag-florida-state-seminoles","tag-louisville-cardinals","tag-north-carolina-tar-heels","tag-pitt-panthers","tag-sec-basketball","tag-smu-mustangs"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110723"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110757,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110723\/revisions\/110757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}