The ACC Tournament almost used to be more important than the national crown to the conference’s fans. Now it’s just a warmup act.
Second-seeded Maryland will meet the winner of Georgia Tech-North Carolina in Friday’s quarterfinals in Greensboro, N.C. The Terrapins might advance a round, but coach Gary Williams’ teams seldom make a big impression in the tournament. It always seems more about Selection Sunday than Sunday’s championship.
Maryland has won the ACC Tournament once under Williams, and it wasn’t in the Final Four seasons of 2001 and 2002. The Terps didn’t even make the ACC championship game in those years.
The only ACC Tournament title in Williams’ 21 seasons was 2004, when John Gilchrist’s 72 hours of excellence carried the Terps. Maryland doesn’t intentionally get bounced early, but the ACC crown is never the real focus. The national tournament overshadows the conference weekend. Maryland may claim a share of the regular-season title, but Sunday’s championship winner will hang the banner in the arena.
Maryland’s victory in the 2004 ACC Tournament became more memorable than its run in the NCAA Tournament, which lasted just two rounds, and that’s the entire point. The ACC Tournament used to be a basketball fan’s dream. But with 12 teams and a full opening day of games (rather than just the one), the event has become so diluted that even the general public bought tickets this year. That was unthinkable even a few years ago, when ACC officials considered moving the tournament regularly to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.
N.C. State’s 103-100 victory over Maryland for the 1974 ACC title is arguably the greatest college game ever. Sure, some will argue the Magic-Bird 1979 national championship was better, but N.C. State kept Maryland out of the NCAA Tournament because only the conference champ advanced. That Terps team was considered better than the ones the year before or after — both Elite Eight teams. N.C. State, meanwhile, won the national title.
Maryland has little to gain in the ACC Tournament. Winning it might raise the Terps from a fifth seed to fourth in the NCAAs, but that’s merely cosmetic. Maryland will face the same level of competition with either seed.
March already has been exciting for Maryland, beating Duke and surviving against Virginia. And it could be dramatic in coming weeks should the Terps advance to the Sweet 16.
But don’t expect too many high-fives this weekend. Maryland probably will win a game, but history says the Terps will be watching the NCAA selection show from home.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
