In my basketball developmental years, the only “conference power” debates that could reasonably be had revolved around the second-best conference.  There was no contest who the best was – the ACC.  Now, while the conference is still elite, it is partially bolstered by history, partially bolstered by the Big Two, and partially bolstered by legitimate on-court performance.  But, this year, anyone who says that this is the best conference knows nothing about the sport.

Duke might be the best team in America.  They haven’t lost a game with Ryan Kelly in the lineup, and that includes a pretty weighty schedule.  UNC is coming on, but they are a far cry from the typical Tar Heel team.  And, this Miami team is really, really good, despite the questionable losses that they’ve suffered since climbing to #2 in the country.  The ‘Canes are a legit championship contender.  But, the rest of the league is shaky, even the preseason favorite, N.C. State, who has been incredibly disappointing, considering the talent they have.  Florida St. and Maryland are not going to make the tournament, despite tournament talent.  Virginia doesn’t necessarily have tournament talent and have a shot, but that’s more because Tony Bennett is such a great coach.  Wake, BC, and Ga Tech are scary as underdogs, but really aren’t that good.  It’s a shaky league that is – all of a sudden – top-heavy.

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 17th – 60 points)

#1 Miami (FL) vs #3 North Carolina
An ACC Tournament title would be the perfect cap to an incredible season for the Hurricanes.  They already have the outright regular season title, but UNC stands in the way of the exclamation point.  Miami was tied with BC with 3 minutes left in their quarterfinal matchup, but that seems like ages ago, as they handled N.C. State in the semis without much trouble.  UNC pounded Florida St., which was supposed to set up a date with their arch-rivals down Tobacco Road, but they got a game Terps team instead.  They almost blew a big lead, but eventually ended the Maryland run (and possibly burst their bubble).  This should be a good one, with a #1-seed probably on the line for Miami.

J, Stumpf, Teddy, and Waters all have the Heels taking this title.  Caleb, Doogan, Mac, and Primm have the Hurricanes.  Teddy has clinched at least a share of the 2013 CTC ACC title.  He will win it outright with a UNC championship.  A Miami title will give Caleb a share.  A Miami win might also clinch the overall title for Mac.

Miami 87 – North Carolina 77
And, they’ve done it.  The Miami Hurricanes have completed the double ACC title, as they justified their regular season crown with a tournament title to boot.  Now, they will wait for the Committee to reward them with a much-deserved #1-seed.  Shane Larkin was spectacular again – 28 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals – all while leading this great team to a great finish.

Mac is going to take the overall CTC title with this, while Teddy and Caleb split the ACC title.  Caleb, Doogan, Mac, and Primm all hit this championship pick.

SEMIFINALS (March 16th – 40 points)

#1 Miami (FL) vs #5 N.C. State
N.C. State might be finally living up to the preseason expectations – and the talent of their roster.  It’s hard to know whether an ACC Tournament title will completely negate the disappoinment that this season has been, but it will certainly help.  As for Miami, they didn’t look great against BC, and there should be concerns in Coral Gables as to whether or not this team peaked in February.  But, they are still a game away from the ACC Championship, which, if they win, should get them a 1-seed in the Dance.

TEN people have N.C. State in what would be a huge 100-point upset pick here (Cheryl, Gersh, GrossJr, Lazarow, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Rikey, RDoc, and Teddy).  Dave and J have already lost it with UVA.  The other 12 people have Miami, including Caleb, Doogan, Mac, and Primm, who have the ‘Canes taking the title.  Lynch and PapaCim have State taking this tournament down.

Miami 81 – N.C. State 71
Durand Scott has 32, while Shane Larkin chipped in with 23, and the Hurricanes are one game from winning their first ever ACC Tournament.  N.C. State should be in the Big Dance, but they will need a nice run there to salvage anything from what began as one of the most promising seasons in a generation.

4 people kept alive their champ here.  8 more got it right, while 10 people missed a big upset pick here.  Lynch and PapaCim took the biggest hits, as they lost their ACC Champ here.

#3 North Carolina vs #7 Maryland
The Terps got it done.  Beating Duke should send them Dancing.  A sweep over Tobacco Road would pretty end all doubt.  UNC handled Florida St. on Friday, setting up this interesting semifinal.

Most people have Duke winning this game, so only a few even can take some points here, though no one will get any points if Maryland wins.  A UNC win would hand 55 points to Alex, Caleb, J, Stumpf, Teddy, and Waters.  The final four of them all have UNC winning this whole tournament.

North Carolina 79 – Maryland 76
I love Mark Turgeon as a coach, so I refuse to believe that an immediate, off-balance half-courter was not the play he drew up when he called a timeout down by 3 with :11 seconds left.  But, that’s what happened, and a furious Maryland comeback fell short, and the Heels move to Sunday’s Championship to take on those ‘Canes.

Four people kept alive their champ here.  No missed a Maryland upset here, but most people had Duke here, so they were hoping for a Terps win to zero it out. 

QUARTERFINALS (March 15th – 20 points each)

#1 Miami (FL) vs #8 Boston College
Olivier Hanlon dropped FORTY-ONE on an unsuspecting Georgia Tech yesterday, leading BC on just your everyday ole comeback 20-point win.  Now, the Eagles will get to face the top-seeded Hurricanes.  Any time the University of Miami can steal basketball headlines in a city with LeBron James, you know they’re doing something right.  And, this Miami team is something special.  Their starting lineup is a sophomore stud, a 4-year senior, two 5-year seniors, and a 6-year senior.  And, their coach, Jim Larranaga, is one of the great basketball minds out there, who was thought to have just “retired” to Miami after taking George Mason to the Final Four.  But, in reality, he was working at program-building.  It remains to be seen whether or not this is a building year for the future or just a “perfect storm” season (will Larkin leave for the pros?  will they be able to replace all these seniors?).  But, that is to be asked later.  Right now the only questions are just how far this team can go.  An ACC Tournament win should give them their first ever #1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, which is a nice feather in the cap, no matter what happens from there.

All 24 people have Miami winning this one.  But, to only have four people support the #1-seed to win the tournament is surprising.  Caleb, Doogan, Mac, and Primm are the only ones with the ‘Canes to cut down the nets.

Miami (FL) 69 – Boston College 58
BC hung around all day, including holding a 2-point lead at half, but the ‘Canes were good enough to move on to the ACC semis on Saturday.  Shane Larkin led the way with 20.

Everyone got this one right, including Caleb, Doogan, Mac, and Primm, who keep alive their champ.

#4 Virginia vs #5 N.C. State
On paper, you have to love this NC State team.  And, I do.  I have been infatuated with C.J. Leslie for FOUR years now, and I don’t totally regret it, though his lack of effort at times bothers me.  His talent is just so stupifying.  But, what happened to Lorenzo Brown?  And, why is this stud freshman class melding with the rest of the team?  If they can put it together, they could be SCARY.  But, it might not be in this tournament because this UVa team is a terrible matchup for them.  The Cavs will slow it down and “ugly it up.”  Then again, they lost to three CAA teams, including a DREADFUL Old Dominion team, so anything is possible.  NC State is in for the Dance, but UVa really needs this one.

Sixteen people took N.C. State in the mild upset here, leaving just eight (Alexi, Bry, Caleb, Dave, Doogan, J, Mac, and Waters) on UVA.  Dave and J are the only two with the Cavs reaching the finals, while TEN people (Cheryl, Gersh, GrossJr, Lazarow, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Rikey, RDoc, and Teddy) have the ‘Pack getting there.  Lynch and PapaCim have State cutting down the Greensboro nets.

N.C. State 75 – Virginia 56
Can it be that N.C. State was just playing possum this whole time and now, when the stakes are real, they are bringing out their real team?  Well, Friday’s quarterfinal shellacking of a good UVa team looked kind of like what we thought we would see all year from the ‘Pack.  C.J. Leslie had 17 & 11.  Scotty Wood hit seven 3’s.  Richard Howell toughed it out through injury for 12 boards.  And, freshman sensation T.J. Warren actually looked sensational with 18 points.  If they actually did “figure it out,” watch out.  But, then again, we’ve seen this before.  But, this performance sure made tomorrow’s semifinal with Miami VERY interesting…

Most people hit this mild upset, including TEN people who have N.C. State going to the finals.  Lynch and PapaCim have them winning this tournament.  Dave and J are the only two that lost finalists here.

#2 Duke vs #7 Maryland
“Win and you’re in.”  That’s probably the situation for Maryland here.  Their bubble resume is marginal, but another win over Duke would make it pretty tough for the Committee to keep the Terps and Alex Len from Dancing.  The problem here is that “winning” isn’t all that easy against this Duke team when they’re at full strength.  In fact, it has yet to be done.  Duke’s only losses came without Ryan Kelly, and he is back and playing very well.  This is a scary team that is certainly in the conversation for title favorite entering the Dance.  But, the Terps are an old nemesis, so this could be a good one to finish off quarterfinal day in Greensboro.

Terp die-hard, Teddy, is the only one on Maryland in this one, as the other 23 people all have the Dukies.  Teddy is in line for a free and easy 70 points if the Terps can pull this one out.  14 people have the Blue Devils winning this tournament, so brackets will be busted if they lose here…though, I think I can speak for the other 13 when I say, “I won’t mind…”

Maryland 83 – Duke 74
As great as Dez Wells was Thursday night in Maryland’s opening round win over Wake, he was that much better here in the quarters.  Wells dropped 30 on the Dukies and the Blue Devils are sent packing…wow!

Teddy is the only one that hit this upset, and 14 people lost their champion here.

#3 North Carolina vs #6 Florida St.
These two teams seem to always meet at some point in the ACC Tournament and, recently, that hasn’t been good news for the Tar Heels (particularly, last year, when FSU upset UNC in the championship…trust me, I remember, it was one of a serious of Day Thirteen upsets that cost Yours Truly the overall title…I wish someone besides me actually cared…).  FSU’s last chance to salvage this season is now – they need to make a run.  As for UNC, they looked like an NIT team for a while, but then Roy Williams decided, “F it – I’m just playing my five best guys, regardless of ‘position.'”  And, it has worked wonders.  They are now very small with the HUGELY overrated James Michael McAdoo at the 5 surrounded by, essentially, 4 guards.  But, they have looked really good in this formation, and McAdoo can actually use his quickness instead of relying on some toughness level that clearly doesn’t exist.

RDoc has already lost this game with Clemson, but Alexi, Cheryl, and Dave all have upset picks alive here with FSU.  The other 20 all have UNC, with J, Stumpf, Teddy, and Waters all taking the Heels to win the title.

North Carolina 83 – Florida St. 62
And, thus ends, with a whimper, the 2012-13 season for Florida St.  Roy Williams has found some more magic in there, as the Heels are playing as well as anyone right now.

Alexi, Cheryl, and Dave missed their upset pick here.  20 people got it right, including 4 people who have the Heels winning this tournament – a MUCH better-looking pick after the Dukies went down to Maryland tonight.

OPENING ROUND (March 14th – 10 points each)

#8 Boston College vs #9 Georgia Tech
BC has been quietly mediocre this year – which is saying something, as they were supposed to be the worst team in the league.  But, for the Eagles to wear white unis in the ACC tournament is a pretty solid accomplishment.  The prognostications on Ga Tech were all over the map.  I heard some say that this was a sure-fire tournament team and possible ACC contender, while others said that they were one of the worst power conference teams.  As usual, they were not as good or bad as the overdramatic media members would like you to believe.  They were…ah…okay.  #1 Miami awaits the winner of this one.

Half the field (Alex, Bry, Cheryl, Dave, Doogan, Gersh, GrossJr, GrossSr, J, Mac, Rikey, and Stumpf) took Ga Tech in the minor upset here.  Nobody has either of these teams beating Miami in the quarters.

Boston College 84 – Georgia Tech 64
BC Freshman Olivier Hanlan set a new CTC record (I think…) with 41 points.  What is lost in Hanlan’s heroics is that Ga Tech scored the first FIFTEEN points of this game and looked like they were gonna run away with it.  Instead, BC outscored them by 35 after that and will advance to a Friday quarterfinal date with #1 Miami.

12 people got it right; 12 got it wrong.

#5 N.C. State vs #12 Virginia Tech
One of these team’s ACC season is going to end on Thursday, and they will be thinking about what could have been.  N.C. State is going to the tournament, but with this roster, they should be thinking about an ACC banner and a top 3 tournament seed.  Instead, they could be anywhere from a 5/6-seed to possibly an 11- or so.  The Hokies – and the nation’s leading scorer, Erick Green – were flying along, against all expectations in the early season and then crashed back to earth in a bad way.  This was a last-place team, and they stopped being competitive after a while.  We will see if they saved some of that early-season magic for this tournament.  Tony Bennett’s UVa Cavs are the next opponent for the winner here.

Bry, Dave, Doogan, and J went for the huge upset pick of Va Tech here, though none of them have the Hokies beating in-state rival UVa in the quarters, where as plenty of people have the Wolfpack beating Virginia, including Cheryl, Gersh, GrossJr, Lohse, Rikey, RDoc, and Teddy, who all have them going to the finals and losing.  Lynch and PapaCim both have the Wolfpack cutting down the nets here in Greensboro.

N.C. State 80 – Virginia Tech 63
Richard Howell and C.J. Leslie were terrific on offense, and Lorenzo Brown was great defensively on Erick Green, as NC State dominated the Hokies to advance to the quarters, where they will face UVA.

Bry, Dave, Doogan, and J missed a huge upset pick here, while Lynch and PapaCim keep alive their champion.  Seven more keep alive a finalist.

#7 Maryland vs #10 Wake Forest
Alex Len will be an NBA lottery pick – and he came out of nowhere to put Maryland back in relevancy.  And, with Mark Turgeon on the sidelines, this team is always in any game.  But, they still lost 10 conference games after a meaningless non-conference slate, so they have work to do.  Beating Wake for a third time would be a good start, which would set up a HUGE rematch with the Dukies in the quarters.

Bry, Lazarow, and Primm are the only two in the whole field with Wake Forest here, with none of them picking the Demon Deacons over Duke.  Teddy is the only one that has Maryland beating the Dukies in the quarters.

Maryland 75 – Wake Forest 62
Xavier transfer, Dez Wells, was terrific in a must-win for the Terps over a dangerous Wake Forest team, setting up an essential tournament qualifier against the Dukies on Friday.

Bry, Lazarow, and Primm miss the upset here, while Teddy keeps alive the possibility of a huge quarterfinal upset.

#6 Florida St. vs #11 Clemson
Oscar Robertson, Christian Laettner, and…Michael Snaer?  Snaer’s crazy buzzer-beating heroics will put him in elite, elite company in college hoops, but, in the end, this FSU team was very disappointing.  But, with Snaer, anything can happen – I wouldn’t even rule out a deep run in this tournament.  It would have to start with a win over a reeling Clemson team that has lost 5 straight that weren’t really that close.  The quarterfinal matchup for the winner of this one will be with UNC.

Seven people (Alex, Bry, Doogan, GrossJr, PapaCim, Primm, and RDoc) have Clemson in the nice upset here.  RDoc even has the Tigers beating UNC in the quarters.  Alexi, Cheryl, and Dave have FSU knocking off the Heels on Friday.

Florida St. 73 – Clemson 69
Clemson limps to the finish and then limps out of the ACC Tournament, as FSU advances to the quarters to take on UNC.  Michael Snaer – of course – hit four straight clutch free throws down the stretch, and the Seminoles are a live ‘dog.

Seven people missed this upset pick, with RDoc losing a semifinalist.  Alexi, Cheryl, and Dave keep alive an upset pick for Friday.

CTC UPDATE

Championship Picks

• #1 Miami (FL) (4)
• #2 Duke (14)
• #3 North Carolina (4)
• #4 Virginia (-)
• #5 N.C. State (2)

Biggest Upsets

• R1 – #12 Virginia Tech (Bry, Dave, Doogan & J)
• QF – #11 Clemson (RDoc)
• SF – #5 N.C. State (many)
• Champ – #5 N.C. State (Lynch & PapaCim)

Previous CTC Champions

• 2008 – Bry
• 2009 – Doogan
• 2010 – Stri
• 2011 – Alexi
• 2012 – Primm

2013 Scores

1. Caleb (’13) – 235
2. Teddy (’13) – 235
3. Stumpf – 195
4. Primm – 190 (’12)
5. Alex – 185
6. Waters – 175
7. Mac – 170
8. Doogan – 150 (’09)
9. LohseJr – 150
10. Scoot – 150
11. GrossSr – 140
12. J – 115
13. Lohse – 110
14. Lynch – 110
15. Alexi – 100 (’11)
16. Gersh – 100
17. Lazarow – 100
18. PapaCim – 100
19. Rikey – 100
20. GrossJr – 90
21. Bry – 80 (’08)
22. Cheryl – 80
23. RDoc – 80
24. Dave – 40