ATLANTA — The ACC Tournament notebook …
Despite its loss Saturday to UNC, Georgia Tech apparently is in the NCAA Tournament after its stirring win over Virginia in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
The Jackets now have three wins over the Cavaliers, a top 20 team, and there’s just no rational way to keep them out.
The big question now for ACC fans, who have assumed for weeks that they’ll have six teams in the tourney, is has Wake Forest replaced the Yellow Jackets on the dreaded bubble? Wake has 19 wins, broke even in the ACC for the first time since 1997 and has an RPI rating better than either Virginia or Tech, but still may not be a sure thing.
Both Wake coach Dave Odom and senior Robert O’Kelley, who have known the pain of NCAA snubs in recent years, say they’ll stay optimistic.
“We feel good about it,” said Odom, “but we’ve been here before and there’s no point in assuming either that we’re in or we’re not in. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Tournament pairings will be announced today at 6:30 p.m.
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STREAK: Maryland has been one of the better teams in the ACC Tournament in recent years.
The Terps have reached the semifinals seven consecutive seasons, although they once again fell short of the finals with their wild loss to Duke on Saturday.
Coach Gary Williams said the tourney bracket his team faced was next to impossible.
“We would have had to beat Wake, a top 25 team, Duke, which is No. 3 and then Carolina, which is No. 5 or 6,” he said. “How many teams in the country were going to do that?”
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GOOD SEED: Asked where he would seed his team in the NCAAs after its loss to Duke, Williams responded with a straight face: “Number 1 in the East.”
The Terps won’t be there, but they’ve made a good case for a high berth.
“We’re very good and we proved it again today,” said Williams. “Whoever wins Sunday should be a No. 1 for sure.
“Wherever they send us, we’ll be ready to go. We believe on a given day, we’re as good as anyone.”
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PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: At Thursday’s shootarounds, no one had as good a time as the Terrapins, who spent much of their hour working on HORSE shots — shooting from the stands and scorer’s tables and taking 30-and 40-footers.
The practice almost paid off for Juan Dixon, who nearly saved Maryland with a shot from 30-plus feet late in the game.
“He makes those in practice,” shrugged Williams.
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MIGHTY CASEY:Duke center Casey Sanders, for whom the talk-show callers have demanded more playing time all season, has been huge for Duke in the first two games in the tournament.
Sanders played 26 minutes against Maryland, and while his 1-for-7 foul shooting was a liability, the Blue Devils would not have won the game without him.
“This was the best I’ve ever see him play,” said Williams. “It was to his credit and good for him because he’s taken a lot of criticism.”
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CLOSECALLS: Williams, like the rest of the ACC coaches, isn’t allowed to comment directly on the officiating, but in his own way he got in a few parting shots.
“Sanders had some interesting blocks today, if you know what I mean,” said Williams. “If you go up through the net and make a block, that’s a pretty good play.”
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WINLESS: Wake doesn’t need to pack a change of clothes when it visits Atlanta. The Deacons are 0-4 in ACC tourney games here.
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MORE THAN OK: O’Kelley played in his 126th game in the loss to Maryland on Friday night. That figure is second in Deacon annals only to Tim Duncan.
With a 20-point effort against the Terps, O’Kelley hit double figures for the 100th time in his career. It was the 20th time he’s scored 20 in his career.
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NOT OK: How Wake does in the NCAAs (assuming it’s there) could depend on the ailing left shoulder of shooter supreme Craig Dawson.
Dawson played just one minute against the Terps and his status for the remainder of the season is undetermined.
“We’re optimistic,” said Odom. “Everyone else seems to be optimistic about their injuries, so we will be, too.”
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ODOM’S NOT DUMB: Odom ranks eighth all-time in wins among ACC coaches with 240, but Maryland’s Williams (238), who is ninth, is breathing down his neck.
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SEE NO EVIL It’s hard to call a technical foul on something you can’t see.
Carolina head coach Matt Doherty went nuts when star guard Joseph Forte was whistled for his third foul with a minute remaining in the first half of Saturday’s semifinal win over Georgia Tech.
Doherty’s antics had official Larry Rose putting his whistle to his lips before Brendan Haywood stepped right in front of the ref, using his 7-foot, 268-pound frame to block Doherty from sight. Three other Heels converged around Rose, laughing and steadfastly assuring him that everything was going to be A-OK.
The event passed, and Doherty remained tech free.
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