The ACC is sending an interesting message this week about football, and it involves basketball.
On Wednesday night, which is usually the busiest weeknight during the basketball season, none of the league’s 12 teams will be in action. The reason: Wednesday is national signing day for college football. So the ACC has made that the league’s priority without any interruption from hoops.
Even more interesting is it’s the only BCS conference that has no basketball games on tap for that night. The SEC has four games, including Alabama at Auburn, the Big Ten has two games, Big 12 two, and the Pac-12 also has a pair of games.
In addition, five of the Big East’s football schools have basketball games Wednesday night, and there are also games scheduled in Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, and the Mountain West. The Sun Belt and WAC are the only other two FBS conferences that don’t have any basketball games scheduled on signing day.
The ACC had a pretty nice final month to the football season, going 4-2 in bowl games with Georgia Tech beating Southern Cal, Clemson taking care of LSU and Florida State winning the Orange Bowl, and also with none of the league’s head coaches leaving for perceived better jobs. And now this, which if nothing else, is good for an interesting yet brief water cooler chat.
Feb. 5
When: 7 p.m.
Full Court Press: The only way this is a contest is if Boston College rains 3s all night and the Hurricanes just aren’t ready to play. Miami has too much in every facet to fall to the Eagles. It just isn’t happening.
Pick: Miami, 76-58.
When: 7 p.m.
Full Court Press: The Demon Deacons have been awful on the road, especially in league play, and the Tar Heels have been playing fairly well, winning five of their last six ACC games. Wake Forest has a few players capable of making this interesting if the Heels don’t defend. On the other hand, intensity, crashing the glass, and the environment could be enough to do in the Deacs.
Pick: UNC, 83-64.
When: 9 p.m.
Full Court Press: The Yellow Jackets are improving and will enter this contest in a better frame of mind coming off a come-from-behind win over Virginia. The Seminoles are coming off a terrible home loss to Duke. Lots of youth in this game, and the home team, led by freshman forward Robert Carter and freshman guard Chris Bolden, will be too much for the Seminoles.
Pick: Georgia Tech, 63-59.
Feb. 7
When: 7 p.m.
Full Court Press: Virginia must take Clemson seriously. The Tigers easily handled the Wahoos last month at Littlejohn Coliseum and are still the same physical team right now but only better. This is a good test for Virginia, gauging whether or not it knows how to respond to a bad loss (at Georgia Tech) and take apart a team it should beat.
Pick: Virginia, 65-49.
When: 9 p.m.
Full Court Press: A year ago, the Wolfpack built a 20-point lead in Cameron Indoor Stadium before collapsing. They won’t do the same this time around, but they can hang in with Duke, even if Lorenzo Brown doesn’t play or sees limited minutes. State should have success inside, and getting Mason Plumlee in foul trouble must be a goal. Duke has to take care of the ball and keep State from running. The Blue Devils also must hit 3s and get some production from the combination of Amile Jefferson, Tyler Thornton and Josh Hairston.
Pick: Duke, 84-77.
When: 9 p.m.
Full Court Press: Must win game for Maryland if the Terrapins are to make a push for the NCAA Tournament. With a poor nonconference schedule, the Terps simply can’t afford to lose games like this. But they’ve also proven to be a weak road team and breakdown fundamentally in tough environments. Cassell Coliseum may not be frenzied, but it will be enough of a home court advantage for the Hokies. Tech learned against at UNC that balanced scoring means they have a better chance at winning than when Erick Green scores half of their points.
Pick: Virginia Tech, 61-55.
Season record: 155-33
