Acc Tournament Strategies

Table of Contents

• Importance of ACC Tournament
• ACC as a Competitive Conference
• Challenges of ACC Schedule
• Strategies for Success
• ACC and National Perception
• Recruitment and Team Building
• Other

Importance of ACC Tournament

Now I come down here and I see how much people care and how much our fans are into the ACC Tournament. I can't wait to get there. I just thought it's a tournament before the NCAA. It's a big-time deal.

We have to have a strong ACC Tournament. We were supposed to be like a 3 seed (in the NCAA), but I am pretty sure we are going to drop down from there. I think we have to go into the ACC Tournament like we did last year, knowing we had to win to get in. We have to win games. We don't want to be an eighth or ninth seed.

A lot of crazy things have happened. ... You play to see if you can win the last four games and win two or three in the ACC tournament. All of a sudden you're on a six-game win streak and your RPI all of a sudden has jumped up, and maybe you've passed some people that are ahead of you.

That's the great thing about being in the ACC. Forget about playing them one time a year. How about three?

That's the great part about Virginia Tech being part of the ACC. Forget about only playing (the Cavaliers) once a year - how about playing them three times in a year? I think that's good for basketball in the state of Virginia.

We're not totally out of it. Obviously we need to win (today) and we need to go into the (ACC) tournament and win one and, maybe, two games. As much as (FSU is) playing for something, we have to understand we're playing for something, too.

We can finish as high as seventh or eighth and then we would be playing either Miami or N.C. State. If we can build on some of the things we've done well the last couple of games and get some momentum going for the ACC tournament, then we will feel confident about our chances.

I would never say our team didn't go into a game seriously last year, because that's not the kind of team we were. But we were coming off a huge win against Duke, and I think we were maybe a little overconfident coming into the ACC Tournament.

We are confident that this is the beginning of a great new tradition in ACC football and the annual hallmark of what will be one of the most anticipated and meaningful games of the year,

Winning in the ACC Tournament always helps your seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Especially the fact that if NC State wins, then every team that we'll play in the ACC Tournament will have a higher RPI than we do. That can only help us in our cause for the NCAA Tournament.

This campaign was not about money. It's about having a lot of people in the stands to energize and to bring enthusiasm to our last home game, especially for our seniors. It's exciting to finish in the top four in the ACC back-to-back years and we've put ourselves in great position to go to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years as well. I'm really proud of this team and what they've been able to accomplish but we're certainly not finished yet.

It's just great to be coming off this four-game stretch going into the ACC tournament. We played Boston College at Boston College and now we get a chance to play them at a neutral site. This is a payback game for us and hopefully our momentum will continue into the tournament.

ACC as a Competitive Conference

The quality of teams in this league is outstanding. It's the best conference in the country. No one is even debating that anymore. We used to say it in recruiting and somebody would say, 'Well, maybe the ACC.' Nobody is questioning it anymore.

I think that is truly amazing. It shows how unique the ACC has been this season and what a tremendous conference it has been from top to bottom. I expected the depth, but I'm not sure we expected three teams in the top four.

The ACC is the best league in the country. Our guys dug themselves out of a hole and got a great win.

It appears that we don't get very much credit for the quality of teams we are playing against in the ACC.

We just have to rise to the occasion. This is college basketball as it is in the ACC. We still have two more games left. We still can realize some opportunities. And this team has had a history of bouncing back.

We're not a team that's big on moral victories, but we are definitely confident we can compete in the ACC. It just reinforces the fact that we know we're supposed to be here.

That ACC is everything it is pretty much cracked up to be, in terms of talent, coaching, venues that you play in, fan enthusiasm and degree of difficulty in terms of winning on the road. And I would say the same thing with the Big Ten.

The thing that's going to make it tough is that the whole ACC has stepped it up.

It's one of the toughest in the nation. First, just look in the ACC. Then we have non-conference games against Auburn and Georgia, too. But if we were not expecting to win every game, something would be wrong with that. We're not going to lower our standards.

There are so many teams in the ACC that can go .500. You'd better be .500 (in the league). Nobody's backing into the NCAA Tournament. That isn't going to happen because of the expansion of the big conferences.

I think the ACC is really making a statement for women's basketball, not just UNC and Duke. Usually it's the SEC that's getting all the love because they have Tennessee and they have national championships. The ACC's creeping up here.

I mean there's a hell of a difference between the Big Ten and the ACC when it comes to quality football.

Challenges of ACC Schedule

We will face seven teams that won at least seven games last year, including two of the top teams in the ACC, within our first three games, both on the road. Plus, we have to go to Virginia Tech, who won more games than any other ACC team last year.

This is again a very challenging schedule. We will face seven teams that won at least seven games last year, including two of the top teams in the ACC, within our first three games both on the road. Plus, we have to go to Virginia Tech.

We've played two ACC teams back-to-back, and that's probably a little bit too much for us.

The N.C. State game gives our fan base a marquee home game in September against a team from the ACC. We're also very pleased with the addition of Florida and Virginia Tech to our schedule, two of the top programs in the nation.

We would even give up one of our guaranteed home games next season and go to Maryland. To have an ACC team in our building the following season, and the respect I have for Coach Williams, it would be an honor for our league.

After the break, it doesn't get any easier for us. We're excited to play Rice, who is coming off a great season, and Virginia, one of the best teams in the ACC, at home. We know we have an awesome challenge after that in DePaul, continuing what has been a great series over the years.

Last season was great for Wake Forest and memorable for the ACC, ... Both Wake Forest and the ACC lost significant contributors, but, as always, the ACC remains strong and we hope that Wake Forest once again is poised to challenge for an ACC championship.

It's one of the toughest in the nation. First, just look in the ACC. Then we have non-conference games against Auburn and Georgia, too. But if we were not expecting to win every game, something would be wrong with that. We're not going to lower our standards.

Miami is incredibly improved this year and have already had some great wins. Their coach, Mario Rincon, has done a great job in building that team. It will be our first ACC match of the season and is no doubt a tough one. You always like to set a good tone for ACC conference play so it should be very intense.

If you look at this home schedule, it really will be a great one for our fans. We play an ACC team, a Big Ten team, we play two teams in our conference that are likely to be ranked in the top 10 -- it is going to be a lot of fun but it will also be a great challenge.

Historically, if you get to .500 in league play, you're in a pretty good position. Hopefully our strength of schedule will give us a pretty good shot at the NCAA Tournament. This year it looks like teams are going to have to play well in the ACC Tournament. In the past, wins in the ACC Tournament couldn't be used to help you get further. Now, you have to play well there to help your chances.

I think all of the first-round games in the ACC tournament are going to be really difficult. Those will be some great games on Thursday. If you're a basketball fan, that may be the best day. Teams are playing for a lot on Thursday.

Strategies for Success

We haven't really proved anything yet. We have a long road in front of us, 15 ACC games. So I am glad that most of the non-conference games are out of the way and now we can get into some games that really start to mean something, like an ACC Championship.

We have to kind of redirect our goal - our goal now is to win our division. Forget everything else, men. Try to win this division and get into the (ACC) championship game and go from there.

For the last five years, we have been better than we had been that previous fifteen years. We have gradually gotten better every year. This year we are the best we have been with our personnel and the level of fitness. I certainly think that the men can get themselves to nationals and finish really high. We really want to win the ACC Championship. It has only been done once in school history.

We definitely want to win all our home ACC games because our home court advantage is very important in the ACC. We've just got to be ready to play our hardest every game and do whatever it takes to win.

Our eyes are definitely on the ACC championship. We definitely feel like we have a shot at being in that game on Dec. 3.

We can finish as high as seventh or eighth and then we would be playing either Miami or N.C. State. If we can build on some of the things we've done well the last couple of games and get some momentum going for the ACC tournament, then we will feel confident about our chances.

I think overall it's an excellent class and it'll be an exciting class with the opportunity to come in and compete towards our goal of winning the ACC championship.

It's one of the toughest in the nation, ... First, just look in the ACC. Then we have non-conference games against Auburn and Georgia, too. But if we were not expecting to win every game, something would be wrong with that. We're not going to lower our standards.

It will be a huge game. We just have to be ready. Every ACC game is a must-win.

This was a big test for us. We really put a lot of emphasis on this game that can jump-start our way into the ACC.

It doesn't matter how you do it or how it looks, but you just have to win. As a home game, it was probably a necessary win. The NCAA is probably going to take six teams from the ACC, so we just have to stay in the mix.

There's three banners I want to hang - ACC regular championship, ACC tournament championship, and, of course, the national championship.

ACC and National Perception

I'm proud that we demonstrated to the ACC that we were a good pick. We've got the ability to be a good program for them. I think they knew that, but I think a lot of people didn't think we were going to be that this year.

To have Miami in there now, just the name alone kind of changes what people think of the ACC when it comes to football.

We were embarrassed in our first ACC game. I know we'll get wins in this league. We can start Saturday against Florida State at home. You can't count this team out yet.

Getting picked to finish fourth or fifth in the ACC was like a slap in the face to us. That was based solely on teams having more talent than us, but that doesn't mean they're better than us. You can't look at what people had in the preseason anymore, though -- you have to evaluate teams on what they're doing right now.

If you made me the national commissioner of football, I'd tell you one thing that I would mandate. The second Saturday in September, we're going to have conference day. Everybody from the SEC plays a Big 12 team. Everybody from the Big Ten is going to play the ACC. Everybody from the Big East is going to play the Pac-10.

I just wanted to see an ACC game. But it's a big-time program, nice coaches and nice players. It was a great atmosphere.

This is the 11th time in the last 13 years we've played for an ACC championship. I wish we'd won all those, but just being there is an honor.

Of course, playing Duke, that's a big game. But every ACC game is a big game.

We're not just playing for the team here. We're playing for the program, and for Aggie pride.

This seems to have a little extra buzz about it. All summer long, there's been people talking about us going to the ACC, ... We've been working hard to get some Boston fans interested in us and it's working out.

Our being new to the ACC and being in Carolina country we knew everybody in the gym was going to be against us. But we feed off that and came out and play harder.

We're out to prove something. A lot of people don't feel we belong in the ACC. A lot of people think we lucked out when we won the ACC last year. We're just trying to repeat, to tell you the truth.

Recruitment and Team Building

Any time you go on the road in the ACC and get a win, it's amazing and we'll take any one we can get. What it meant for our team is it's giving us confidence for the next couple of games.

Go back into the days when Maryland lost the ACC championship to N.C. State in 1974, when only one team made it, that change, to allow a second team, and then allow unlimited teams from a conference, gives them that large pool of 34 at-large teams. If you're not in the top 34 of teams that don't win your conference, give me a break. You've had the chance to win games. You have no reason to complain.

We will keep everything the same but the intensity will step up a little bit. We have done a good job focusing on our competition and scoring runs. With Maryland and the rest of the ACC competition the rest of the way out, we will have to step up a little bit.

We should get a bid if we do that -- whether we will or not I don't know. There are certainly more than four ACC teams in the top 64 in the country. To say the ACC has only four teams in the top 64 is laughable.

Last season was great for Wake Forest and memorable for the ACC. Both Wake Forest and the ACC lost significant contributors, but, as always, the ACC remains strong and we hope that Wake Forest once again is poised to challenge for an ACC championship.

Today was just another hard-fought, down to the buzzer, ACC game. What else would we expect from these two teams in this league?

The Georgia Tech game was physical but I think the rest of our conference schedule is going to be the same way. NC State comes in a very physical basketball team. We're going to have to really work to get to the point of screens even and make our cuts like we want to be able to do. Obviously the ACC is a conference that really does prepare you for March.

I'm not really a fan of the BCS. I wish they would go back to the way it was in high school. Have a playoff and let us play different regions. Flip a coin and let us play the Pac 10 champion or the ACC champion. Make it kind of like college basketball.

We're out to prove something, ... A lot of people don't feel we belong in the ACC. A lot of people think we lucked out when we won the ACC last year. We're just trying to repeat, to tell you the truth.

It's a big deal, especially with us being from the West Coast. They get a lot of love in the ACC and all that stuff. It's a big statement game for us.

I don't know that it's much of a break when you're playing Arizona. You can say this gets you away from the ACC wars. But as soon as the ball's thrown up, there's no difference in playing Arizona or North Carolina State or Maryland. It's big-time basketball.

All the way through my high school and college there was never a doubt in anybody's mind the ACC was the best conference.

Other

I never said I'm unhappy about going to the ACC. I'm unhappy the Big East broke up. That's a completely different thing than saying I'm unhappy about going to the ACC.

I think we can benefit from being in the ACC. It's a great basketball league. If anything, it helps our recruiting.

The ACC is a great league.

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