Firing up the game thread on this one a few days early, per usual.
Programming note while I'm thinking of it: I'll be there with full coverage.
The tiebreakers for Duke to have the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament are pretty simple. Duke needs to win (duh) to tie UNC at 16-4 in the conference, in which case they'll be co-regular-season champs. Here's where the fun begins ...
If Clemson is the No. 3 or 4 seed, Duke will get the No. 1 seed; if Pitt is the No. 3 or 4 seed, UNC will get the No. 1 seed. It's all one jumbled mess, but it all has to do with who Duke and UNC have lost to, i.e. Duke was 1-0 against Clemson and UNC was 1-1 against them; Duke was 1-1 against Pitt and UNC was 1-0 against them. Where Virginia finishes doesn't really matter because Duke and UNC both went 1-0 against them.
Here are their games on Saturday: Clemson at Wake Forest, 6 p.m. | N.C. State at Pitt, 7:45 p.m.
Figuring out the scenarios for the third- or fourth-place tiebreaker is kind of exhausting ... but for Duke's purposes, you'll want Clemson to win at Wake Forest. I don't think there's a scenario in which Clemson wins and still isn't the 3- or 4-seed.
Programming note while I'm thinking of it: I'll be there with full coverage.
The tiebreakers for Duke to have the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament are pretty simple. Duke needs to win (duh) to tie UNC at 16-4 in the conference, in which case they'll be co-regular-season champs. Here's where the fun begins ...
If Clemson is the No. 3 or 4 seed, Duke will get the No. 1 seed; if Pitt is the No. 3 or 4 seed, UNC will get the No. 1 seed. It's all one jumbled mess, but it all has to do with who Duke and UNC have lost to, i.e. Duke was 1-0 against Clemson and UNC was 1-1 against them; Duke was 1-1 against Pitt and UNC was 1-0 against them. Where Virginia finishes doesn't really matter because Duke and UNC both went 1-0 against them.
Here are their games on Saturday: Clemson at Wake Forest, 6 p.m. | N.C. State at Pitt, 7:45 p.m.
Figuring out the scenarios for the third- or fourth-place tiebreaker is kind of exhausting ... but for Duke's purposes, you'll want Clemson to win at Wake Forest. I don't think there's a scenario in which Clemson wins and still isn't the 3- or 4-seed.
