Last week was an important one for the ACC bubble, a trend that is likely to continue through the rest of the regular season. With no fewer than seven ACC locks and five more teams circulating around the bubble, the league still has a reasonable shot at tying or beating the Big East’s record 11 teams sent to the NCAA Tournament in 2011. Here’s where the bubble stands three weeks out from Selection Sunday. (KenPom rankings and team records through Monday night.)

LOCKS: (6): North Carolina, Louisville, Duke, Notre Dame, Florida State, Virginia

Miami’s Comeback Win at Virginia Last Night Put the Hurricanes Into Lock Status (USA Today Images)

• Miami (19-8, 9-6 ACC, KenPom #30). Miami locked itself into the field of 68 as the ACC’s seventh team with a three-game winning streak over six days that included victories over fellow bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson, as well as a huge comeback win at Virginia on Monday night. Even more impressive is that the Hurricanes managed to save its season without the services of injured veteran point guard Ja’Quan Newton. They will now finish at worst .500 in ACC play, which along with a resume that includes two marquee wins (North Carolina and at Virginia) and no bad losses should provide plenty of justification for the committee. This week: Duke (2/25), at Virginia Tech (2/27)

BUBBLE

• Syracuse (16-12, 8-7 ACC, KenPom #48). The NCAA Tournament hopes of the Orange took a big hit this week when they traveled to Georgia Tech on Saturday and lost by six points. Now at 8-7 in conference play but with a lousy non-conference performance still weighing its resume down, Syracuse probably needs to win one of its upcoming games against Duke and Louisville, in addition to Georgia Tech plus one more in the ACC Tournament, to feel comfortable. This week: Duke (2/22), at Louisville (2/26).

• Virginia Tech (18-8, 7-7 ACC, KenPom #46). Virginia Tech defeated Pittsburgh and lost a tight one at Louisville last week. While a win over a possible top-two NCAA seed would have been huge, the Hokies still have three games remaining against ACC bubble teams (although we’re considering Miami a lock at this point). A 9-9 ACC record should be the goal. This week: Clemson (2/21), at Boston College (2/25), Miami (2/27).
• Georgia Tech (16-11, 7-7 ACC, KenPom #76). One of the most surprising teams in college basketball this season, the Yellow Jackets secured another crucial win over Syracuse despite losing to Miami as well. Georgia Tech’s bubble hopes are weighted down by just one strong non-conference win at VCU, but with three of its four remaining games coming against teams it has already beaten, Josh Pastner’s team can play itself into the field. This week: NC State (2/21), at Notre Dame (2/26). 
• Wake Forest (15-12, 6-9 ACC, KenPom #31). Wake Forest’s bubble hopes are on life support after losing to Clemson and Duke this week. The Demon Deacons once again nearly pulled off the upset over the Blue Devils, but they couldn’t make enough game-winning plays at the end. With three games remaining, the Demon Deacons probably need to win out or make a run in the ACC Tournament to convince the committee of their merits. This week: Pittsburgh (2/22).
• Clemson (14-12, 4-10 ACC, KenPom #38). Although Joe Lunardi only has the Tigers in his “First Four Out,” Clemson is dangerously close to falling off the bubble. After taking down Wake Forest handily on Valentine’s Day, another sub-par late game performance sunk the Tigers against Miami. Getting to .500 in ACC play is not an option for this team, but if the Tigers win out and notch a couple of games in the conference tournament, they have an outside shot at getting in. This week: Florida State (2/25).

Charlie Maikis (15 Posts)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2017 at 9:01 am by Charlie Maikis and is filed under acc, microsites. Tagged: clemson, georgia tech, miami, syracuse, virginia tech, wake forest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.