2007 ACC Basketball Preview

Seven teams from the ACC went to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. That was a conference record. However, not one of those clubs reached the Final Four. Those two facts define the enigma of the ACC and college basketball predictions. Is it still a top conference or has it slipped a rung or two?

Of the 12 teams in the ACC, there is perhaps only one has real National Championship potential, and it’s not Duke or Maryland. The North Carolina Tar Heels, a team that won the ACC Championship in 2007 and then missed the NCAA Final Four by a basket, return with fine depth, the inimitable Tyler Hansbrough and coach Roy Williams.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that other teams don’t have a chance. Duke’s “Coach K” has the best recruits in the conference and the backcourt has some fine veterans. Frosh forward Kyle Singler, the hottest prospect in the country, will start in the Duke frontcourt. The Blue Devils will be contenders.

And don’t forget the NC State Wolfpack; they are definitely a team on the rise with fine NBA prospect Brandon Costner aboard. Gavin Grant and Ben McCauley team up with forward Costner, while freshman big man J.J. Hickson is a top-ten prospect. Watch out for the Wolfpack, and watch the college basketball betting lines.

After those three, there are three highly competitive teams—the Clemson Tigers, Virginia Cavaliers and Maryland Terrapins. All of these clubs will probably find themselves in the Big Dance come March and be some of our favored March Madness picks.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Boston College Eagles and Virginia Tech Hokies are all teams that have taken a step down. Maybe one of these teams will find themselves in the NCAA tournament but don’t count on it. All three have lost either a key ingredient or ingredients designed to make them part of the ACC elite.

Bringing up the rear, it will be the Florida State Seminoles, Miami Hurricanes and Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Noles need to win the close ones and have not figured out how to do that yet. Miami’s point guard position will be manned by a freshman. Wake Forest is reeling from the loss of coach Skip Prosser suddenly this summer to a heart attack.

The fact is that although North Carolina looks to be the most competitive team nationally, no one should count out Duke or NC State and neither will we in our NCAA basketball preview. Welcome to the ACC—the conference that’s in flux in so many ways.

2007 ACC Basketball Predictions

Click on School Link For Individual Team Preview

1) North Carolina Tar Heels
2) Duke Blue Devils
3) NC State Wolfpack
4) Clemson Tigers
5) Maryland Terrapins
6) Virginia Cavaliers
7) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
8) Boston College Eagles
9) Florida State Seminoles
10) Miami Hurricanes
11) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
12) Virginia Tech Hokies