Hell hath no fury like a disrespected conference.
The ACC had the third-best league RPI in the nation last season, closely trailing the Big East and Big Ten. But while those conferences received eight and six bids to the NCAA Tournament, respectively, the ACC had to settle for a measly four invites among its 12 teams.
Now, the ACC coaches are making sure the country knows they are not OK with it.
"It's bad. I've been trying to come up with different words-somebody said 'abominable,' but I'd be afraid to spell it," North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said.
"Disappointing," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Our conference has to just say that's wrong."
Florida State was the league's most notable snub after finishing 9-7 in conference play, including a win over No. 1 Duke. The Seminoles, who were ranked 65th in the RPI, were the first team with a winning record in the ACC not to make the Tournament since Virginia in 2000.
"I cannot fathom how somebody can go 9-7 in this league and not make the Tournament," Williams said. "The Pope couldn't convince me that some of those teams in the Tournament could go 9-7 in our league."
Maryland was also left out of the Big Dance with an 8-8 league record, while Miami, Virginia and Clemson all finished 7-9 and settled for the NIT. The ACC teams that made the Tournament, however, did not exactly discredit the selection committee's decisions. Duke, Boston College, North Carolina and N.C. State put up a collective record of 6-4, with no squad advancing past the Sweet 16. But several coaches emphasized the distinction between teams performing well in the NCAA Tournament, and the process of determining who deserves to be in.
"Air Force beat Georgia Tech, and it was a significant win for them," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "Maryland beat Georgia Tech three times. But that was not a significant win. But it was a significant win for Air Force and part of the scenario or reason they were selected."
The ACC will be trying to claim more bids this season with a number of new faces leading the way. Ten of last year's 16 All-ACC honorees graduated or left early for the NBA, but the conference welcomes in a freshman class that includes eight McDonald's All-Americans.
"There's always going to be new guys stepping up in our league-always," Miami head coach Frank Haith said. "There's going to be another Tyler Hansbrough in our league this year, [a freshman] who's going to be a tremendous player."
North Carolina is expected to be the cream of the ACC crop after adding the top recruiting class in the nation and returning 80 percent of the scoring from last year's 23-8 squad. But after the Tar Heels, who were ranked second in the preseason Associated Press poll, the picture becomes a lot murkier. Last season, 105 league games were decided by five points or fewer, highlighting how close the difference between a 10-6 and a 6-10 conference record can be.
"I will tell you this-there's not an easy game on the schedule in the ACC," Hamilton said. "And I'm not trying to promote anything other than calling it like I see it. And the stats bear it out."
But as the ACC tries to grab a larger share of the 34 at-large bids, it will have to compete with more conferences to do so.
Last year, the ACC's low representation coincided with an increase in the Tourney showing from mid-major conferences-the Missouri Valley Conference also received four bids. While many of the ACC's coaches acknowledged that mid-major teams had gained significant ground, they said the NCAA Tournament selection committee has discounted the rigor of the ACC schedule.
"A lot of teams like that, they can beat you in an individual game or show well in an individual game, but it's the multiple games that a conference team has to play that has never, ever been given the weight that it should," Krzyzewski said.
Nearly every coach spoke at length at the ACC's media day about the league deserving more than four bids to the Tournament on a yearly basis. Williams said the coaches were making a conscious effort to promote their league, not unlike what many conferences have done in the last few years.
"Go back to Big East media day last year," Williams said. "[Big East commissioner Mike] Tranghese said, 'We've got to have seven or eight teams in the Tournament.' From the first day. The coaches-what did they say? 'We've got to have seven or eight teams in the Tournament.'... If [ACC commissioner] John Swofford has got to stand up and say that, then John's got to say that. If we as coaches have to stand up and say that, then we've got to say that."
The ACC's lack of bids also has caused some league coaches to consider the arguments for expanding the NCAA Tournament. Most coaches cited the difference in the percentage of basketball teams that make the Tournament versus the fraction of football teams that make bowl games and the subsequent issues of job security as the best reason for an expansion.
This season, 64 of the 119 Division I-A football teams-nearly 54 percent-will make a bowl, whereas only 65 of the 334 Division I basketball programs-less than 20 percent-made the Big Dance in 2006.
"Anything but [making the NCAA Tournament], and everyone walks around like it's gloom and doom, and it's been the most hideous season in the history of life," Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg said. "Yet if you go to the Seatbelt-Bee Pollen-GNC bowl game, you've had a successful season. You know what, it's hard. There are 34 at-large bids. Thirty-four at-large bids and 300 schools that compete for them, and every single school thinks they got screwed."
Greenberg said he was in favor of expanding the Tournament to 96 teams, with 64 teams playing one game on the Tuesday after Selection Sunday to fill the 32 bottom spots in the round of 64. Other coaches have proposed doubling the number of teams to 128. Krzyzewski said he is not in favor of major expansion, but suggested adding three more play-in games for the 16 seeds.
"I don't think we can make a jump," he said. "It's kind of like not moving out of Cameron. This works so well right now."
Regardless of the long-term solution, there is one thing the coaches seem to agree on.
"If you really want the best 65, you've got to take more than four ACC teams," Williams said. "That's the bottom line."
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