Two programs ACC football should waste no time inviting
By Austin Lloyd
Where has ACC basketball gone wrong?
Duke and North Carolina have been the top two names on the Atlantic Coast’s men’s basketball scene. However, the 2022-23 stretch left a lot to be desired from both of them, with the Blue Devils falling to Tennessee in the Round of 32 by 13 points (their largest tournament loss since 2016) while the Tar Heels missed the dance entirely.
To make matters worse, a few of the other programs — Florida State, Louisville, and Syracuse — have each fallen on some tough times of their own. In short, the Seminoles finished this last season with nine wins (their least since the team’s 2000-2001 run), the Cardinals finished with only four (their least since World War II), and the Orange just lost legendary head coach Jim Boeheim.
But wait, there’s more: The ACC’s list of basketball concerns bleeds into the women’s game as well.
It is important to understand that, as we established when covering the conference’s men, the Atlantic Coast’s latest performance in women’s basketball wasn’t particularly bad. Rather, it has just been better in previous seasons.
This latest WBB stretch saw three ACC teams finish with single-digit numbers in their loss columns (Notre Dame, Duke, and Virginia Tech). That is the least amount of Atlantic Coast teams to meet such a standard since the 2012-13 season. Oh, and it feels fitting to mention that the Southeastern Conference has also won the last two titles in this sport.
In my opinion, these nonstop punches being dealt to the ACC’s foothold in college athletics must not continue — that is, without the league at least trying to punch back.