Duke's smashing of North Carolina on Saturday night marked the end of the regular season and the beginning of Championship Week. The ACC Tournament begins on Thursday with four first round matchups and the Blue Devils begin play on Friday when they face the winner of the Boston College-Virginia game.
Here's how Duke's first game (12 p.m. Friday) could look:
Scenario 1: Duke vs. Boston College
Previous games: 1/13 BC at Duke, Duke wins 79-59
2/06 Duke at BC, Duke wins 66-63
Duke dominated the first matchup with Nolan Smith going 9-for-14 from the field and scoring 24 points. Kyle Singler scored 15 points and Jon Scheyer and Miles Plumlee each chipped in 12. Duke outrebounded the Eagles 40-25 and forced 13 turnovers. For Boston College, Reggie Jackson kept the game respectable by scoring 20 points and making eight of his twelve shots. In the second meeting, the Eagles kept the game close the entire time and missed a three at the buzzer that would have forced overtime. The Blue Devils held a ten point halftime lead, but fatigued in the second half after defeating Georgia Tech just 40 hours earlier in a hard fought game. Smith and Scheyer each scored 21 while Singler added 12. BC forward Rakim Sanders made up for his 1-for-8 performance in the first game by making six of his 12 shots.
Duke is undefeated in neutral venues this season and will be playing on five days rest while the Eagles would have played the night before. Duke has an advantage at every position on the court and will be ready to defend its 2009 ACC Tournament Championship and continue its push for a number one seed.
Scenario 2: Duke vs. Virginia
Previous games: 2/28 Duke at Virginia, Duke wins 67-49
In the Blue Devils only game against Virginia this season, Duke went up early and never looked back. Singler scored 20 points while Scheyer added 21. In possibly his worst performance of the season, Smith shot just 1-of-8 from the field and scored just five points, just the second time he's scored in single digits all season (nine points against Georgia Tech on 1/9). UVA shot just 31.8% from the field and looked completely inept offensively with the exception of forward Jerome Meyinsse who made six of his eight shots and score 21 points. At its highest point, Duke lead by 27 and some garbage time Cavalier baskets kept the score from being more an embarrassing.
Virginia has currently lost nine games in a row though it will have to end that streak if it wants to face the Blue Devils in the second round. While Virginia can use the fact that it was without its best player, Sylven Landesberg, as an excuse in its loss to Duke, that would be the case in a potential round two matchup as the Cavs have suspended the guard for the remainder of the season due to academic issues.
As for the rest of the ACC Tournament, there are plenty of intriguing storylines:
- Can Georgia Tech secure a tournament spot? The Yellow Jackets certainly need a victory, if not two, to guarantee a spot in the Big Dance.
- Could North Carolina shock the college basketball world? This is probably what the NCAA is rooting for (just imagine the stories involving UNC making the Tournament), but the Tar Heels need to improve dramatically, and fast, to have any chance at running the table.
- Could BC, UVA, Miami, or NC St. take a spot? In short, no. Though Carolina is ranked below some of these teams, the Tar Heels have more talent than all of them and have a better chance of making a run. The Eagles, Cavs, Hurricanes, and Wolfpack just don't have nearly enough skill to win four games against teams with more talent against them. But crazier things have happened. Watch out for it anyways
- Who is better: Duke or Maryland? Duke dominated in Cameron. Maryland won at the Comcast Center. A neutral court matchup for the ACC Tournament Championship would settle once and for all who is better (barring a Tournament meeting).
While many mark this upcoming Sunday night as the beginning of March Madness, it really begins this week. So many teams are battling for so few spots in the Dance. Every game matters and every team has a chance. Let the madness begin!
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