After a first month of the season centered on non-conference games, the second part of the season begins this week, that of conference games. For four months, until the conference tournaments at the end of the season which precede the “March Madness”, the various programs of the country will indeed face the teams of their respective conferences.
USA Basketball offers you for the occasion a preview of each conference of the “Power Six”, the six major conferences of the NCAA first division: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12.
Respecting the alphabetical order, we start with theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
A historic conference in the university landscape, but which has displayed a disappointing level of play for several seasons. For example, last season, of the fifteen teams in the conference, only seven of them ended the regular season with a positive record…
Paradoxically, the ACC was the most successful conference during March Madness: Miamithough only a No. 10 seed, reached the “Elite Eight”, the third round of the tournament, losing to Kansas, the future champion. Even more striking, the two immense rivals North Carolina (seeded n°8) and duke (No. 2) faced each other in the “Final Four”, in a historic match won by the Tar Heels, who sent Mike Krzyzewski to retirement at the same time.
But overall, the ACC is a losing conference, at least as far as the regular season goes.
The teams
– Duke Blue Devils (#1 in the conference in 2021/22)
– North Carolina Tar Heels (#2 in 2021/22)
– Notre Dame Fighting Irish (#3 in 2021/22)
– Miami Hurricanes (#4 in 2021/22)
– Wake Forest Demon Deacons (#5 in 2021/22)
– Virginia Cavaliers (#6 in 2021/22)
– Virginia Tech Hokies (#7 in 2021/22)
– Florida State Seminoles (#8 in 2021/22)
– Syracuse Orange (#9 in 2021/22)
– Clemson Tigers (#10 in 2021/22)
– Louisville Cardinals (#11 in 2021/22)
– Boston College Eagles (#12 in 2021/22)
– Pittsburgh Panthers (#13 in 2021/22)
– Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (#14 in 2021/22)
– North Carolina State Wolfpack (#15 in 2021/22)
Challenges
– North Carolina, that favorite? Finalists last year, the Tar Heels started the season in first place in the Top 25 of the Associated Press. Logical, when you know that four of the five holders who had come close to the title in March had returned to reclaim the Grail, and that the experienced Pete Nance, little brother of the Pelicans player, had arrived to strengthen the team. Only a month into the season has the expectations around UNC suddenly dropped. Blame it on a very, very sluggish start to the season: 5 wins and 3 losses, with successes against modest adversity, and setbacks against bigger teams (Iowa State, Alabama and Indiana). In other words, the Tar Heels, until now, are dominated as soon as they rub at the top of the table. The sign of a team that is not yet fully settled collectively… or that is simply weaker than expected. In any case, it seems clear that North Carolina will have to work hard to grab the conference podium this season. A hell of a surprise…
– The first year of Kenny Payne and Jon Scheyer. The first at Louisville, the second at Duke: the two men are starting their very first experience as a “head coach” this season.
For Kenny Payne, former player of the program in the 80s before spending many years as an assistant, in Kentucky alongside John Calipari and at the Knicks in the staff of Tom Thibodeau in particular, this first one does not go very well. good so far: the Cardinals have lost their first seven games before attacking the conference games… On paper, Louisville has the weakest roster in the ACC, and one wonders if “KP” will be able to win a conference victory… A terrible observation for the man who had returned as a hero to take the reins of his alma mater last spring. But Louisville is a program in total reconstruction, and the road back to the light will be long.
For Jon Scheyer, it’s quieter. The 35-year-old technician took over in the spring from the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, whose assistant he has been for the past eight years. This season, he has thus inherited a quality, albeit very young, workforce, led by very talented “freshmen” (Tyrese Proctor, Dariq Whitehead, Kyle Filipowski, Derek Lively and Mark Mitchell). His first month at the head of the legendary Durham program, therefore, is overall very positive: seven wins in nine games, the two losses being against Kansas and Purdue, two of the very best teams in the country in this young 2022 season. /23. So, in a generally weak conference, and while their main competitor North Carolina seems less in shape than expected, Duke seems in good shape to position itself as the best team in the ACC this season.
– Virginia’s return to the fore? Unless the Cavaliers come to stand in the way of the Blue Devils. Absent from the “March Madness” last year after a season of transition, a first in eight years for them, the 2019 champions indeed seem on track this season to sign a return to the fore. After a month of competition, the Cavaliers are indeed still undefeated (6 wins in as many games), notably offering prestigious victories against Baylor, Illinois and Michigan. When it comes to attacking the schedule of conference matches, Tony Bennett’s squad is even ranked 3rd in the AP’s Top 25. It’s undeniable: within this very open ACC, the Charlottesville program is the big favorite to win, at the moment.
Player to watch: Caleb Love
After a solid but still insufficient “sophomore” season to place itself correctly on the radar of NBA franchises (15.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists), the North Carolina point guard returned with a third exercise at Chapel Hill.
And if the Tar Heels are generally underperforming since the start of the season, the Missouri native is at his career high: 19 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3 assists per game. As always with him, efficiency remains a challenge (41% on shots, 26% from 3-pointers), but the talent is immense. Intrinsically, he is undoubtedly one of the best players in his conference.
It will also be interesting to follow his career in the ACC this season, since the teams are starting to know him well now, he who has been on the university boards for more than two years. If he continues his momentum from the start of the season, while cleaning up his decision-making a bit and concrete his defense, a selection for the 2023 Draft awaits him next June.
Prediction: Virginia
In the offseason, the absolutely obvious choice would have been North Carolina. That’s not really the case now, although the Tar Heels obviously still have time to stabilize their game. Then there’s Duke, a talented group but certainly a little too young and inexperienced to go so far. On title. Teams like Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest will post good results, but are clearly a step below.
So we’re betting on Virginia for the ACC conference title. After a cannonball start to the season, the Cavaliers are attacking the second half of the season with excellent momentum. Barring an injury or more simply a drop in diet, Virginia will fly over its conference in the regular season, and should attack the conference tournament at the end of the season in first place.
