By Caulton Tudor
Raleigh News & Observer
It’s never happened, and the odds are still against it, but the Atlantic Coast Conference enters the final week of January with a legitimate chance to land three regional No. 1 seeds in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
With Duke the No. 1 team in both polls (until next Monday) and Wake Forest and North Carolina just behind, the top of the league hasn’t appeared to be so formidable since 2005.
That season, Carolina went off No. 1 in the Syracuse Regional en route to the national championship. Duke started No. 1 in the Austin Regional but lost in the third round to No. 5 seed Michigan State. Wake Forest started No. 2 in the Albuquerque Regional before getting upset in the second round by No. 7 West Virginia.
Since the NCAA went to regional seedings in 1979, the ACC has been awarded 27 No. 1 seeds. In five of those seasons, the ACC got two No. 1s, but no league has ever claimed three in a single tournament.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said over the weekend that there’s a good chance the three league heavies are the best trio in the nation.
“We’ve had two a lot, a lot, a lot,” Krzyzewski said. “But it could be (the top three right now). Those three teams could hold their own against anybody, I’ll tell you that. Which says a lot for the conference.”
But remaining in position to land three No. 1s until the tournament field is announced on Sunday night, March 15 will not be easy. Starting with Duke’s trip to Wake last night, the Blue Devils enter the final few weeks of regular season with several difficult away games. Carolina’s road schedule should be less imposing, although the Tar Heels do face six away games in the league. Wake also has six, including a Feb. 22 game at Duke.
If three No. 1s are bagged, the league probably will benefit from the uneven scheduling format necessitated by a 12-member conference. The schedule broke this season in such a manner that UNC had only one regular-season game each against Wake and Clemson.
A potential problem as the season unfolds is the growing possibility that the ACC is so top-heavy that the remaining nine teams could be seen by the selection committee as unusually soft by past league standards. Boston College got a win at North Carolina and Virginia Tech won at Wake Forest. Otherwise, there have been a lot of routs, including Duke’s surreal 41-point win Saturday over Maryland, Carolina’s 24-point Wednesday win over Clemson and Wake’s 20-point win at Boston College on Jan. 14.
But if the NCAA teams were picked and seeded today, history could be made.
Obviously, Big East powers Connecticut and Pittsburgh would be just as solidly in contention for No. 1s. And if current trends continue through the rest of regular season, there’s little chance the ACC could wind up with as many teams as the Big East in the national rankings.