March Madness has begun across the country, with the college basketball conference tournaments beginning. With the NCAA Tournament Selection Show this upcoming weekend, conference tournaments are wrapping up with their quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship games over the next couple of days.
When it comes to formats of the conference tournaments, the No. 1 seed usually gets the early windows in the. quarterfinals and semifinals. That is because teams that earn the top seed after a strong regular season get to have longer rest periods between games. That’s how all the conferences are doing it, except for one, the ACC.
This year, the conference held off on releasing times for their games until the top 4 were set in the bracket. When the dust settled, Duke was the No. 1 seed and North Carolina was the No. 4 seed. Usually, those teams would have been scheduled in the earlier slot in the tournament to get the most rest. Not this year, and it appears that Duke coach Jon Scheyer was not happy with the revised schedule.
Duke Coach Jon Scheyer Takes Subtle Shot at ACC
Duke enters the ACC Tournament as a shorthanded team. Out with injuries are Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba. As to what happens next week in the NCAA Tournament, it might be difficult for them to return, but anything is possible.
Playing an underrated Florida State team in the quarterfinals on Thursday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, the Blue Devils survived a scare from the Seminoles, winning 80-79. They advanced to the semifinals on Friday night against No. 5 Clemson. That’s right, the Tigers took down North Carolina, 80-79, in the second semifinal. After beating FSU, Scheyer didn’t miss an opportunity to take a subtle shot at the ACC.
“We have to recover quickly,” said Scheyer. “We’re not playing the noon game this year. We’re the only 1 seed not to be playing early in the country.”
He’s not wrong, but it clearly is a shot at the ACC for their scheduling. It doesn’t favor the top-seed the way it should, compared to other conferences. The ACC was hoping for a third Duke/UNC battle in primetime on Friday night. Clemson had other ideas.
Duke has locked up a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament next week. They likely have locked up the No. 1 overall seed, but that remains to be seen. Results in other tournaments, along with the ACC, will determine that.
ACC Money Move Completely Backfires, And Jon Scheyer Isn’t Happy
This was a clear move by the conference that was about TV and money. A Duke/North Carolina third meeting in just over a month, in Charlotte, is gold for the ACC. However, the Tar Heels didn’t follow the script and were upset by Clemson.
Once the injuries for Duke were announced, along with North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson being out with a broken thumb, the odds decreased that both would advance to the semifinals. Duke was able to hang on, and UNC wasn’t able to complete a comeback from double-digits in the second half. Now, a once-promising move from the ACC blows up in their face, and Scheyer is less than thrilled, and he has a beef.
Duke Coach Jon Scheyer Takes a Not-So-Subtle Shot at ACC Decision Makers