ACC Tournament 2012 Schedule: Maryland and Teams That Can Save Miserable Season

The beautiful thing about March Madness is that no matter how poor of a season you’ve had, there is always your conference tournament.

In the ACC, there have been three teams that have had incredibly disappointing seasons for a variety of reasons. Whether it is a new coach, injuries or just plain poor play, it hasn’t been pretty.

But the talent is still there. Teams like Georgia Tech, Boston College and Wake Forest simply don’t have the firepower to win four games in four days.

Meanwhile, these three teams don’t have the greatest odds, but are more than capable of catching fire and stealing a bid from a bubble team.

(Click here for full ACC Tournament bracket)

No. 6 Maryland (16-14, 6-10 ACC, 110 RPI)

The Terps have struggled mightily in Mark Turgeon’s first year at the helm, but they do own wins over Notre Dame and Miami. They also have ACC scoring champ Terrell Stoglin, who is capable of blowing up four days in a row.

They meet No. 9 Wake Forest in Round 1, then No. 1 North Carolina. That’s the big test.

If the Terps can pull off the upset, the bracket really opens up, and so will their confidence. Obviously it’s a long-shot, but the Terps are capable of pulling it off if they can catch a few breaks.

Clemson Tigers (16-14, 8-8 ACC, 146 RPI)

The Tigers have five losses against teams with an RPI of 150 or worse, which explains their current predicament, but they also sport wins over Florida State, Virginia and NC State—all teams that stand in their way.

As the No. 7 seed, Clemson will face No. 10 Virginia Tech on Thursday, which should be a win. Then it’s No. 2 Duke, which is the ultimate confidence builder.

The Tigers are built to win four games in as many days as they play nine guys at least 14.6 minutes. The team is deep and can increase the tempo and run teams out of the gym.

A breakout couple of games from Andre young surely wouldn’t hurt either.

North Carolina St. (20-11, 9-7 ACC, 51 RPI)

Some think the Wolfpack and their 20 wins should be in the NCAA tournament with a win this week. Yet with zero top-50 wins and only five in the top 100, they haven’t risen to the level of their competition…yet.

The No. 5 seed has No. 12 Boston College in Round 1, which should be a breeze. From there it’s another winnable game against No. 4 Virginia, who has been extremely inconsistent this season.

Two wins isn’t enough, though. They need to reach the championship game on Sunday to feel safe. For a team that shoots 46 percent, it is certainly possible to do.

They may not have to win the whole tourney like Maryland and Clemson, but a lot of heavy lifting must be done for the Wolfpack to punch their ticket. 

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