Yes, North Carolina represented the ACC well last season by winning the national championship. But the other six ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament bowed out in ugly performances. Four of them failed to put up 60 points in their final game, and four teams lost by at least 15 points. Offensive inconsistency was the downfall of ACC teams last season, and the top teams’ performance this season indicates that history might repeat in March.
As of Feb. 2, the ACC has six teams in the RPI top 50: Duke, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida State, Clemson and Maryland. All of those teams except Georgia Tech played and lost in last season’s NCAA Tournament. So each team entered this season with hopes of another trip to the Big Dance, but each knew it needed to improve to last longer in the tournament.
Of those six teams, only Duke can feel confident that it is on pace to make a lasting impact in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils are one of only four teams that rank in the top 20 for offensive and defensive efficiency, as measured by Ken Pomeroy. In the past six NCAA Tournaments, 17 of 24 Final Four participants have met that profile. In addition, Duke is one of the best teams in the country in defending the perimeter, which makes the Blue Devils less susceptible to the machinations of a hot-shooting dynamo. Plus Duke avoids giving teams extra possessions, committing only 12.0 turnovers per game. More importantly, the Blue Devils have a pair of sound ball-handlers in Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer, who commit fewer than two turnovers per game.
Based on efficiency numbers, Maryland would appear to be poised to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins rank No. 20 for offense and No. 21 for defense. However, Maryland also has some concerning statistics to overcome. Despite having a guard-oriented lineup, the Terrapins are porous on the perimeter. Opponents get more than 30 percent of their scoring from behind the arc. And when they miss, they grab offensive rebounds nearly 36 percent of the time. When Memphis stomped Maryland in the NCAA Tournament last season, the Tigers hit 10 three-pointers and out-rebounded the Terrapins 33-23.
Maryland wasn’t the only ACC victim sniped down by long-distance sharpshooters in the last NCAA Tournament. Florida State lost in overtime largely because Wisconsin hit nine three-pointers. The Seminoles also committed 14 turnovers to the Badgers’ nine. Superstar point guard Toney Douglas single-handedly accounted for that differential by committing five turnovers. This season, the Seminoles are one of the worst teams in Division I in protecting the ball, averaging about 17 turnovers per game. Florida State tries to overcome that sloppiness with the No. 1 defense, based on efficiency. Although the Seminoles make it hard to score, they are vulnerable on the perimeter, allowing opponents to make about seven three-pointers per game. Opponents get 35.2 percent of their points from three-point territory. Frequent turnovers, a sluggish offense — ranked No. 105 in efficiency — and lackluster three-point defense are key ingredients in the recipe for a first-round NCAA Tournament upset.
Like its ACC brethren, Wake Forest gave up some untimely three-pointers in its major first-round upset to Cleveland State in last year’s NCAA Tournament. But the Demon Deacons lost mostly because they failed to play under control, committing 18 turnovers and forcing only six. All-ACC guard Jeff Teague ushered in the disaster with seven turnovers. Although the Demon Deacons’ offense has regressed this season — from No. 43 in efficiency last season to No. 88 this season — Wake Forest has tightened its three-point defense, with opponents managing only 23.7 percent of their points from behind the arc. Wake Forest’s tournament hopes this season will depend largely on the Demon Deacons’ ability to stop three-point shooters. And it also will rely on point guard Ish Smith controlling the tempo and limiting turnovers.
Clemson looks like a mirror image of Wake Forest, and the two won’t meet until the final game of the regular season March 7. The Tigers lost to Michigan in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament by giving up 10 three-pointers and struggling on offense. Unlike Wake Forest, which gave away the ball too often, the Tigers simply couldn’t hit shots. For a team ranked No. 16 in offensive efficiency, Clemson looked inept against Michigan and coach John Beilein’s 1-3-1 zone defense. The Tigers have work to do on offense this season and are ranked only No. 92 in efficiency. But they should be better prepared to handle a perimeter-oriented team because opponents get only 22.2 percent of their points from behind the arc, the 39th best rate in Division I. The Tigers play suffocating defense that forces turnovers, so Clemson figures to match up well against many teams defensively. The question the Tigers must answer is whether they can muster enough offense to get past one or two tournament opponents.
Of the ACC’s best teams based on RPI, Georgia Tech figures to be the lone newcomer to the NCAA Tournament. But Georgia Tech might face a familiar fate. The Yellow Jackets have a solid defense, ranked No. 8 in efficiency, but a mediocre offense, ranked No. 64. In addition, they give up a significant percentage of opponents’ points (29.5 percent) from behind the arc. And they turn the ball over more than 16 times per game. Point guard Iman Shumpert is guilty of playing carelessly too often, averaging 3.3 turnovers per game. For a young team with no NCAA Tournament experience, the Yellow Jackets could run into trouble in the first round if they play a fundamentally strong team that has been to the NCAA Tournament one or two consecutive years — think Cornell or Siena.
By the end of the season, the ACC could look back at the 2010 NCAA Tournament with a sense of deja vu. Duke could easily make a run to the Final Four, with only one or two other ACC teams making it past the first weekend of play and a couple of highly seeded teams going down in first-round upsets. Outside Duke and Maryland, all of the ACC’s powerhouses need to find a way to avoid offensive slumps — the kind of lackluster performances that can lead to March Madness melancholy.
