The ACC was given 8 bids to the tournament. Five of those teams have already played and 3 of them are gone after North Carolina lost to VCU, NC State lost to Texas, and SMU lost to Miami, O. Duke and Louisville barely escaped upsets by Siena and South Florida. Not a good start for the ACC. Overall the ACC looked weak and vulnerable to more early exits this weekend. Today’s games look like they could bring more trouble for the ACC. Virginia is the only one who looks like a safe bet among today’s 3 games against Wright State. I expect Clemson to lose to Iowa and Miami vs Missouri is a coin flip. I’m guessing that Miami will win but With the game being played inSt. Louis, Missouri has something of a home court advantage.

By contrast, the A10 had a good day, validating their selections. With St. Louis beating Georgia and VCU beating North Carolina, they sent teams from the SEC and the ACC packing. Nice job, guys!

Here’s hoping that the Big East can have a sweep today as well. St. John’s and UConn need to avoid upsets. Villanova should have their hands full with Utah State. Statistically, Utah State is one of the best shooting teams in the country, but they haven’t put those numbers up against Big East competition. They are not the kind of team with big bodies inside that gives Villanova trouble. If the Wildcats 3-point game is clicking, they have a shot at a win here. A big game from Duke Brennan may help as well. Close games often come down to free throws. The team that wins may well be the team that makes their FTs. Good luck, Wildcats!

(03-20-2026 05:39 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  The ACC was given 8 bids to the tournament. Five of those teams have already played and 3 of them are gone after North Carolina lost to VCU, NC State lost to Texas, and SMU lost to Miami, O. Duke and Louisville barely escaped upsets by Siena and South Florida. Not a good start for the ACC. Overall the ACC looked weak and vulnerable to more early exits this weekend. Today’s games look like they could bring more trouble for the ACC. Virginia is the only one who looks like a safe bet among today’s 3 games against Wright State. I expect Clemson to lose to Iowa and Miami vs Missouri is a coin flip. I’m guessing that Miami will win but With the game being played inSt. Louis, Missouri has something of a home court advantage.

By contrast, the A10 had a good day, validating their selections. With St. Louis beating Georgia and VCU beating North Carolina, they sent teams from the SEC and the ACC packing. Nice job, guys!

Here’s hoping that the Big East can have a sweep today as well. St. John’s and UConn need to avoid upsets. Villanova should have their hands full with Utah State. Statistically, Utah State is one of the best shooting teams in the country, but they haven’t put those numbers up against Big East competition. They are not the kind of team with big bodies inside that gives Villanova trouble. If the Wildcats 3-point game is clicking, they have a shot at a win here. A big game from Duke Brennan may help as well. Close games often come down to free throws. The team that wins may well be the team that makes their FTs. Good luck, Wildcats!

I was happy there were 3 multi bid leagues from outside major conferences (A-10, MAC, WCC.) I know two of these leagues had bid thieves so not sure how often it will happen going forward. Even happier that these teams are winning and showing they belong.

Also happy for former Huskies Ahmad Nowell and Yousouf Singare on getting tournament wins with VCU and High Point, respectively. Both players have now at least made the tournament every season of their career and have never lost in the 1st round (Singare even has a ring.)

Yep. ACC starts poorly.

And Louisville, if I'm not mistaken, might be missing a key player from this point forward, strongly hurting its chances to advance (Cards now play Mich State).

Not to make an excuse but to offer an explanation for those who might not know: North Carolina was missing star PF Caleb Wilson, one of the five best freshmen in the country. To be fair, VCU might have been without a key player, too. I don't know. Regardless, congrats to VCU.

The ACC team that might be best suited to make a run (other than Duke) is Virginia. I'm impressed with the Cavs.

ACC down to one team

Things have continued to go down hill for the ACC. Despite getting 8 teams into the tournament, they only have 1 going on to the Sweet 16. Who would you rather be today - Duke with 1 team in the Sweet 16 or the Big East with 2 teams in the Sweet 16? Despite getting only 3 bids.

Terrible tourney for the ACC. No other way to say it. I suppose one could argue that if Duke wins it all, the ACC will have "done fine." But I won't buy that. And I would say the same thing, hypothetically, about the Big East or the other three leagues in the all-sports P4 if they had only one team in the final 16 and it won the title.

Only one member of the ACC in the Sweet 16? That's a disaster.

(03-23-2026 09:16 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  Terrible tourney for the ACC. No other way to say it. I suppose one could argue that if Duke wins it all, the ACC will have "done fine." But I won't buy that. And I would say the same thing, hypothetically, about the Big East or the other three leagues in the all-sports P4 if they had only one team in the final 16 and it won the title.

Only one member of the ACC in the Sweet 16? That's a disaster.

And with their injury problems, they’re not likely to get to the championship game, much less win it all. Heck, Siena had their number. Healthy, it’s a different story and they’d be the favorite to go all the way.

(03-23-2026 10:42 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-23-2026 09:16 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  Terrible tourney for the ACC. No other way to say it. I suppose one could argue that if Duke wins it all, the ACC will have "done fine." But I won't buy that. And I would say the same thing, hypothetically, about the Big East or the other three leagues in the all-sports P4 if they had only one team in the final 16 and it won the title.

Only one member of the ACC in the Sweet 16? That's a disaster.

And with their injury problems, they’re not likely to get to the championship game, much less win it all. Heck, Siena had their number. Healthy, it’s a different story and they’d be the favorite to go all the way.

I agree.

If Duke wins it all, that bails out the rest of the league. We love to point out the BE has won 4 of the last 10 championships. To be honest I don't even remember how the rest of the league did those years, only that Villanova and UConn came through big time. But if the Johnnies knock off Duke, that would certainly seal the fact it was a disappointing season for the ACC.

(03-23-2026 11:14 AM)Traderwill Wrote:  If Duke wins it all, that bails out the rest of the league. We love to point out the BE has won 4 of the last 10 championships. To be honest I don't even remember how the rest of the league did those years, only that Villanova and UConn came through big time. But if the Johnnies knock off Duke, that would certainly seal the fact it was a disappointing season for the ACC.

You just explained why I don't look at it this way.

If Duke won, for example, 10 straight titles yet the ACC failed to get a single team to the Sweet 16 during those 10 tourneys, those 10 Blue Devil title would not mean the ACC collectively is strong.

(03-23-2026 11:14 AM)Traderwill Wrote:  If Duke wins it all, that bails out the rest of the league. We love to point out the BE has won 4 of the last 10 championships. To be honest I don't even remember how the rest of the league did those years, only that Villanova and UConn came through big time. But if the Johnnies knock off Duke, that would certainly seal the fact it was a disappointing season for the ACC.

I agree. If Duke wins the National Championship then all its forgiven.

That's how I look at it.

I hope the Johnnies can knock them out please!!! Get the ACC out!

Friday night in D.C will be epic. Two Big East Programs fighting back to back for a chance to meet again at the Elite 8

(03-23-2026 11:14 AM)Traderwill Wrote:  If Duke wins it all, that bails out the rest of the league. We love to point out the BE has won 4 of the last 10 championships. To be honest I don't even remember how the rest of the league did those years, only that Villanova and UConn came through big time. But if the Johnnies knock off Duke, that would certainly seal the fact it was a disappointing season for the ACC.

I can't speak for the Nova titles as I didn't follow the Big East as closely while UConn was in the AAC and thus I honestly don't remember.

However in 2024 all 3 teams made the Sweet 16 (as they should have, being 1,2 and 3 seeds) while UConn won it all. In 2023 Creighton made the Elite Eight to go along with UConn's title. So the league has been solid in terms of tournament performance.

I don't think we had a Sweet 16 team last year despite getting 5 bids, which is the only time in the past 4 years the league hasn't gotten at least one team to the 3rd round or farther.

If you look at the former Big East teams now in the ACC:

BC - no NCAAT since 2009
Louisville - no S16 since 2015
ND - one NCAAT in past nine years
Pitt - two NCAAT in past ten years
Syracuse - five straight years of no NCAATs

In the case of Louisville and Syracuse, these were two perennial powers in the Big East annually (especially under Pitino and Boeheim). Now, much of the inability to reach similar accolades while in the Big East are as much to do with not having those coaches than conference affiliation. However, the ACC will always be led by UNC and Duke; any other basketball program would be playing for that next grouping IMO.

To Golden Warrior's point (well made) about how the former Big East members have struggled in hoops in the ACC, one could make a similar argument that Xavier, Creighton and Butler have not been nearly as tough in the Big East as they had been as members of their previous respective leagues.

In the 13 years since the Big East reinvented itself:

Creighton: one regular season BE title and no conference tourney titles

Xavier: one regular season BE title and no conference tourney titles

Butler: no regular season BE titles and no conference tourney titles

Realistically, the Big East will typically be led by UConn and Nova. So Creighton, Xavier and Butler essentially gave up chances to win conferences titles so as to be members the Big East, just like the former BE members did to join the ACC

But in both cases, the schools made the correct moves.

(03-24-2026 06:20 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  To Golden Warrior's point (well made) about how the former Big East members have struggled in hoops in the ACC, one could make a similar argument that Xavier, Creighton and Butler have not been nearly as tough in the Big East as they had been as members of their previous respective leagues.

In the 13 years since the Big East reinvented itself:

Creighton: one regular season BE title and no conference tourney titles

Xavier: one regular season BE title and no conference tourney titles

Butler: no regular season BE titles and no conference tourney titles

Realistically, the Big East will typically be led by UConn and Nova. So Creighton, Xavier and Butler essentially gave up chances to win conferences titles so as to be members the Big East, just like the former BE members did to join the ACC

But in both cases, the schools made the correct moves.

I'm honestly not sure I would make the comparison myself, bill. Creighton has made an Elite Eight out of the Big East and has routinely been in the top 25. I don't think they were quite there in the MVC, outside of when Doug Mcbuckets was there.

Xavier has been a one seed and still been very competitive overall in the Big East.

I can see drawing this conclusion for Butler, but I think they reached highs under Brad Stevens that are just tough to match without that level of a coach, at least at a smaller school/program.

The problem I see for teams in the ACC is that they are just too big at 18 members. There are a lot of reasons for why each of those former Big East programs declined after they joined the ACC, but that’s not the problem. Any school can decline. But once you decline in a league that big, it becomes almost impossible to claw your way back to the top. We saw that in the old 16-member Big East. It was always the same group of teams in the bottom third. I think that was a large part of DePaul’s problem. They were a good program when they joined the Big East, a successful program. But once they fell to the bottom, it seemed like they could never get out. There were just too many teams between them and respectability.

The other problem for the former Big East schools in the ACC is that their basketball programs lost a tremendous recruiting advantage that came with Big East membership. Syracuse in particular used to bring in a ton of kids from New York City & the metro area. So did the other programs to a lesser extent. Regular season games with St. John’s & Seton Hall every year + the Big East Tournament + local TV exposure are a winning combination with recruits. It’s just not the same when you’re playing in a Carolina focused league. The rivalries just don’t have the same meaning, something which UConn experienced in the AAC as they watched ticket sales decline in the AAC and then immediately start to rebound when they rejoined the Big East.

(03-24-2026 07:13 PM)Nameless Wrote:  

(03-24-2026 06:20 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  To Golden Warrior's point (well made) about how the former Big East members have struggled in hoops in the ACC, one could make a similar argument that Xavier, Creighton and Butler have not been nearly as tough in the Big East as they had been as members of their previous respective leagues.

In the 13 years since the Big East reinvented itself:

Creighton: one regular season BE title and no conference tourney titles

Xavier: one regular season BE title and no conference tourney titles

Butler: no regular season BE titles and no conference tourney titles

Realistically, the Big East will typically be led by UConn and Nova. So Creighton, Xavier and Butler essentially gave up chances to win conferences titles so as to be members the Big East, just like the former BE members did to join the ACC

But in both cases, the schools made the correct moves.

I'm honestly not sure I would make the comparison myself, bill. Creighton has made an Elite Eight out of the Big East and has routinely been in the top 25. I don't think they were quite there in the MVC, outside of when Doug Mcbuckets was there.

Xavier has been a one seed and still been very competitive overall in the Big East.

I can see drawing this conclusion for Butler, but I think they reached highs under Brad Stevens that are just tough to match without that level of a coach, at least at a smaller school/program.

Fair point about Creighton, NLess.

But my general point still stands.

(03-24-2026 11:05 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  The problem I see for teams in the ACC is that they are just too big at 18 members. There are a lot of reasons for why each of those former Big East programs declined after they joined the ACC, but that’s not the problem. Any school can decline. But once you decline in a league that big, it becomes almost impossible to claw your way back to the top. We saw that in the old 16-member Big East. It was always the same group of teams in the bottom third. I think that was a large part of DePaul’s problem. They were a good program when they joined the Big East, a successful program. But once they fell to the bottom, it seemed like they could never get out. There were just too many teams between them and respectability.

The other problem for the former Big East schools in the ACC is that their basketball programs lost a tremendous recruiting advantage that came with Big East membership. Syracuse in particular used to bring in a ton of kids from New York City & the metro area. So did the other programs to a lesser extent. Regular season games with St. John’s & Seton Hall every year + the Bug East Tournament + local TV exposure are a winning combination with recruits. It’s just not the same when you’re playing in a Carolina focused league. The rivalries just don’t have the same meaning, something which UConn experienced in the AAC as they watched ticket sales decline in the AAC and then immediately start to rebound when they rejoined the Big East.

Good points, Bill. I do wonder if some of this is a "State U" thing. Of the 16 teams left in the tourney, only three (SJU, Duke and Houston) are not massive public "state-wide fanbase" universities with robust resources.

The ACC schools from the former Big East, and that are struggling, don't fit that "Big State U" model (though Notre Dame and Louisville have big budgets and fan bases).

It is seemingly easier to be competitive in a smaller league (in terms of number of members) than it is in a larger conference. The math works more effectively, I suppose.

(03-25-2026 09:04 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-24-2026 11:05 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  The problem I see for teams in the ACC is that they are just too big at 18 members. There are a lot of reasons for why each of those former Big East programs declined after they joined the ACC, but that’s not the problem. Any school can decline. But once you decline in a league that big, it becomes almost impossible to claw your way back to the top. We saw that in the old 16-member Big East. It was always the same group of teams in the bottom third. I think that was a large part of DePaul’s problem. They were a good program when they joined the Big East, a successful program. But once they fell to the bottom, it seemed like they could never get out. There were just too many teams between them and respectability.

The other problem for the former Big East schools in the ACC is that their basketball programs lost a tremendous recruiting advantage that came with Big East membership. Syracuse in particular used to bring in a ton of kids from New York City & the metro area. So did the other programs to a lesser extent. Regular season games with St. John’s & Seton Hall every year + the Bug East Tournament + local TV exposure are a winning combination with recruits. It’s just not the same when you’re playing in a Carolina focused league. The rivalries just don’t have the same meaning, something which UConn experienced in the AAC as they watched ticket sales decline in the AAC and then immediately start to rebound when they rejoined the Big East.

Good points, Bill. I do wonder if some of this is a "State U" thing. Of the 16 teams left in the tourney, only three (SJU, Duke and Houston) are not massive public "state-wide fanbase" universities with robust resources.

The ACC schools from the former Big East, and that are struggling, don't fit that "Big State U" model (though Notre Dame and Louisville have big budgets and fan bases).

It is seemingly easier to be competitive in a smaller league (in terms of number of members) than it is in a larger conference. The math works more effectively, I suppose.

Good point about State U, Bill. I think that’s very much the case. In that respect, the Big East schools joined the right league because the ACC is the only one of the P4 that already had more than 1 or 2 privates. Here are the numbers:

SEC - 1 private (Vanderbilt)
B1G - 2 privates (had only Northwestern before adding USC)
B12 - 3 privates (had only Baylor & TCU before adding BYU)
ACC - 8 privates (had Duke & Wake Forest before adding BC & Miami 23 years ago and then added Notre Dame & Syracuse 14 years ago and then Stanford & SMU most recently)

Maybe the ACC has been more receptive to private schools because UNC and UVA have operated more like privates for a long time with undergrad enrollments under 20,000 and highly selective admissions, both of which have earned them “public Ivy” designations. In addition, Clemson and Florida State were both founded as private colleges, so that’s in their DNA so to speak. Interestingly Pitt was a private university until 1966 and even today is not fully state owned. University of Louisville originated with h Jefferson Seminary in 1798, a private institution.

(03-25-2026 09:42 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-25-2026 09:04 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-24-2026 11:05 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  The problem I see for teams in the ACC is that they are just too big at 18 members. There are a lot of reasons for why each of those former Big East programs declined after they joined the ACC, but that’s not the problem. Any school can decline. But once you decline in a league that big, it becomes almost impossible to claw your way back to the top. We saw that in the old 16-member Big East. It was always the same group of teams in the bottom third. I think that was a large part of DePaul’s problem. They were a good program when they joined the Big East, a successful program. But once they fell to the bottom, it seemed like they could never get out. There were just too many teams between them and respectability.

The other problem for the former Big East schools in the ACC is that their basketball programs lost a tremendous recruiting advantage that came with Big East membership. Syracuse in particular used to bring in a ton of kids from New York City & the metro area. So did the other programs to a lesser extent. Regular season games with St. John’s & Seton Hall every year + the Bug East Tournament + local TV exposure are a winning combination with recruits. It’s just not the same when you’re playing in a Carolina focused league. The rivalries just don’t have the same meaning, something which UConn experienced in the AAC as they watched ticket sales decline in the AAC and then immediately start to rebound when they rejoined the Big East.

Good points, Bill. I do wonder if some of this is a "State U" thing. Of the 16 teams left in the tourney, only three (SJU, Duke and Houston) are not massive public "state-wide fanbase" universities with robust resources.

The ACC schools from the former Big East, and that are struggling, don't fit that "Big State U" model (though Notre Dame and Louisville have big budgets and fan bases).

It is seemingly easier to be competitive in a smaller league (in terms of number of members) than it is in a larger conference. The math works more effectively, I suppose.

Good point about State U, Bill. I think that’s very much the case. In that respect, the Big East schools joined the right league because the ACC is the only one of the P4 that already had more than 1 or 2 privates. Here are the numbers:

SEC - 1 private (Vanderbilt)
B1G - 2 privates (had only Northwestern before adding USC)
B12 - 3 privates (had only Baylor & TCU before adding BYU)
ACC - 8 privates (had Duke & Wake Forest before adding BC & Miami 23 years ago and then added Notre Dame & Syracuse 14 years ago and then Stanford & SMU most recently)

Mayb the ACC has been more receptive to private schools because UNC and UVA have operated more like privates for a long time with undergrad enrollments under 20,000 and highly selective admissions, both of which have earned them “public Ivy” designations. In addition, Clemson and Florida State were both founded as private colleges, so that’s in their DNA so to speak. Interestingly Pitt was a private university until 1966 and even today is not fully state owned. University of Louisville originated with h Jefferson Seminary in 1798, a private institution.

You just highlighted why the so-called P2 (the Big Ten and the SEC) are the best all-round conferences: they are overwhelming comprised of massive public universities.

To be clear: Creighton, Butler and Xavier strongly made the right call to join the Big East. And the BE has benefited from having all three.