WASHINGTON — North Carolina State fired its coach Mark Gottfried last week, yet the Wolfpack will continue to be guided by Gottfried for the rest of the current season. Perhaps his office is really messy and he needs an entire month to box up his keepsakes?
There was once a time when NC State wasn’t just a player in the ACC, but royalty in Raleigh, where the conference tournament was held for the first 13 years. The Wolfpack won with Everett Case as their head coach and cut down the nets with Press Maravich in charge, before winning it all under Norman Sloan and Jim Valvano. Perhaps they used up too much mojo during the 1983 National Championship run.
Perhaps they used even more karma in their improbable ACC Tournament run as a #6 seed in 1987. That was their 10th title in 34 years, tying the Wolfpack with North Carolina. In the last 30 years, NC State has as many ACC Championships as Clemson. Or Boston College. Or UCLA. That makes the natives restless and thus makes the seat as hot as their fire-engine red uniforms.
Gottfried guided NC State to a pair of Sweet 16s and four straight NCAA Tournament appearances before last winter’s 16-17 stumble. This winter has been even more bitter with losses that include a 51-point drubbing in Chapel Hill and a come-from-ahead collapse against Syracuse. But the endgame was a messy one in Raleigh…and now the school scrambles to find someone willing to compete in the shadows of the Smith Center and Cameron Indoor. Who will be willing to put their career in the hands of an athletic department that pulled the rip-cord on a mostly successful regime? North Carolina and Duke snicker at their poor country cousin.
#24 Maryland (22-5, 10-4 Big Ten) learned Monday that it will be without the services of 7-foot-1 Michal Cekovsky for the rest of the year after the junior forward fractured his ankle in Sunday’s loss at #11 Wisconsin. That’s bad news for a team that ranks ninth in the Big Ten in rebounding. The Terps sit one game behind the Badgers and Purdue, and came up short on the boards in recent losses to each. The good news is Maryland isn’t completely unfamiliar with Ceko on the shelf — the big man had missed 10 of the team’s first 19 games this season. This week, they host streaking Minnesota (five straight wins) and slumping Iowa (three straight losses). ESPN’s Joe Lunardi tickets the Terps to the Midwest Region as a #6 seed with a first round game against Middle Tennessee, while CBS’s Jerry Palm has the Terrapins as a #6 in the West drawing Arkansas.
Georgetown (14-13, 5-9 Big East) likely closed the book on its NCAA tournament hopes with Sunday’s loss at #20 Creighton, barring a run through conference tournament. Since five 14-loss schools made the field of 68 as at-large teams in 2011, no school with 14 losses on Selection Sunday has had their shoulder tapped. Three-point shooting has been an issue since league play began (the Hoyas are ninth in the Big East from outside the arc) and poor perimeter production reared its ugly head again against the Bluejays, as Georgetown shot 3-for-22 from downtown. There is hope as John Thompson III’s team plays its next three games against schools that are currently sub-500 in the league, before wrapping up the regular season with #2 in the nation Villanova.
#18 Virginia (18-9, 8-7 ACC) suffering four straight losses, including back-to-back sub-50 scoring efforts for the first time since 1969? There’s Trouble in Charlottesville as the Cavaliers careen down the conference standings. If they had held on to that 14-point, second-half lead at Virginia Tech they would have moved into a first place tie; instead, four losses later, UVa is tied for seventh. They have to get London Perrantes on the right track — the senior is shooting just 28 percent during the current slide (Monday’s 2-for-15 performance against Miami being the exclamation point). Moving forward, they could also use some frontcourt production, as Isaiah Wilkins has just six double-digit scoring efforts in league play. Center Jack Salt may be shooting 50 percent during the current skid, but the New Zealander has taken just six shots over 63 minutes. ESPN has UVa a #5 seed in the Midwest with a first round game against UT-Arlington, while CBS has the Cavaliers seeded sixth in the south and Middle Tennessee State as their first round foe. Both projections were released before Monday’s loss.
Virginia Tech (18-8, 7-7 ACC) has to get Buzz Williams a dry-cleaning sponsorship. The guy makes Jimmy Patsos and Sean Miller seem absolutely arid by comparison. Unfortunately, after sweating through his dress shirt against Louisville, Williams had to put an orange T-shirt on, leading kids watching the Saturday afternoon game to believe that Charlie Brown on the Hokies’ sideline. While #8 Louisville’s the last of seven ranked opponents on the Hokies conference schedule, they’ll have to finish out the stretch without leading rebounder Chris Clarke. And the bench was short to begin with. Clemson may be 4-10 in the ACC, but seven of those losses were by two possessions or less. ESPN has the Hokies seeded 10th in the Midwest with a first round game against Oklahoma State while CBS has them facing VCU in the 8-9 game of the Midwest Regional.
George Mason (18-9, 8-6 Atlantic 10) came up short Saturday against Rhode Island after trailing by 13 at the half at home. The road to the double-bye gets tougher, as three of their final four games are away from Eagle Bank Arena and the lone home game is against A-10 co-leader Dayton. Don’t worry, Mason visits co-leader VCU on the season’s final day.
George Washington (14-13 , 6-8 Atlantic 10) might not be in contention for the coveted double-bye…but Sunday’s win over Duquesne does lift GW further away from the dreaded opening round. A 2-2 finish is not out of the realm of possibility, and after an offseason of upheaval, a 16-15 mark entering the conference tournament should be viewed as a success.
Howard (7-21, 4-9 MEAC) came back to earth in a 66-59 loss to North Carolina Central after winning consecutive conference games for the first time all season. While shooting 33 percent from the field and 4-23 from three-point range is not ideal, there’s no shame in coming up short against the conference leaders. The Eagles have won 12 straight to surge up the standings past Norfolk State. Gulp — that’s who the Bison have next.
American (6-21, 3-13 Patriot League) came up short on Senior Day to Holy Cross 69-54. While that was hardly ideal, it almost makes sense, as the strength of this team is Coach Mike Brennan’s underclassmen. The top two scorers are freshman Sa’eed Nelson and Mark Gasperini…while sophomores Delante Jones and Lonnie Rivera have also made contributions. AU is assured of playing in the first round of the conference tournament; they need two wins, plus two losses by Army and Lafayette to have any hope of hosting their first round game. Navy and Loyola, brace yourselves.
