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The (Tobacco) Road To The Final Four: ACC’s X-Factors In 2017 NCAA Tournament
To win a national championship, teams often need certain star players to carry the load. The ACC has no shortage of such contributors in this year's NCAA Tournament.
March 15, 2017
To win a national championship, teams often need certain x-factors to get hot and carry the load. The ACC has no shortage of such contributors in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament tipped off on Tuesday night with a pair of First Four games, as No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s defeated No. 16 New Orleans to advance to a matchup with No. 1 Villanova in the East, while No. 11 Kansas State beat No. 11 Wake Forest to advance to a date with No. 6 Cincinnati in the South. Two more First Four contests take place on Wednesday night, but none of them involve ACC schools.
The NCAA Tournament really begins on Thursday (and if you are familiar with my rants on Twitter, you’re aware that I believe that the Big Dance will always begin on a Thursday, though that’s neither here nor there), when the ACC’s best begin play.
Looking back at Tuesday night’s Wake Forest loss, head coach Danny Manning did a nice job this season of getting that program back to the Big Dance, but now the question centers on if star sophomore big man John Collins will return to Winston-Salem. He had a phenomenal season in which he was a double-double machine. If he does elect to make himself available for the 2017 NBA Draft, it will be a tough blow. However, Manning is the right man for this Wake rebuild, so at least the future is bright for the Demon Deacons.
While Wake’s stay in the Dance was short, eight other ACC teams are looking for a lengthy stop in this year’s Tournament. And these are the ACC’s key players for the league’s top national title contenders.
ACC X-Factors In The NCAA Tournament
East Region
Duke G Luke Kennard: The sophomore has been a revelation for a Duke team that battled injuries and some off-the-court issues, as Kennard was expected to be a role player throughout the 2016-17 college basketball season but ended up emerging as a potential national player of the year candidate. Freshmen Jayson Tatum and Frank Jackson have now become vital contributors, and the Blue Devils still have Grayson Allen, Amile Jefferson and Harry Giles, but Kennard’s presence is necessary for a team that is finally looking like a national title contender. He is not just a shooter anymore. While he is averaging 20.1 points per game on 50 percent shooting and is connecting on 44 percent of his treys, he has an off-the-dribble game, complete with a crafty floater. He’s a key piece to the Duke puzzle.
NOTE: The Blue Devils would not have garnered a No. 2 seed without Tatum. He provides an inside-outside presence that creates matchup nightmares. However, his 3-point shot has gone by the wayside as of late. Over his last seven contests, he is just 6-of-31 from downtown. He can still be effective inside, but the Blue Devils need his strong perimeter play as well—especially if one their guards is having an off night.
West Region
Florida State F Jonathan Isaac: Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles have the talent, length and depth to make a run in this year’s Dance, but inconsistency has plagued the ‘Noles. While Isaac is only a freshman, the team plays its best when he is aggressive. Quite simply, he needs the ball in his hands more without disrupting the offense. This is the time of year when coaches say freshmen aren’t freshmen anymore. Isaac needs to play like an upperclassman. The 6-foot-10 forward is a very good shooter who can defend all five positions on the floor. He needs to be more aggressive offensively, but Dwayne Bacon and the rest of his teammates also need to seek him out more.
Notre Dame F Bonzie Colson: No player in the country has been a better undersized big man than the 6-foot-5 Colson, who averages 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He is a savvy offensive player who knows how to work around bigger defenders. In the ACC Tournament championship game, Colson—who has a 7-foot wingspan—had 29 points and nine rebounds in the setback to Duke. He is also a very sound defender, as the junior averages just a shade under 1.4 blocks per contest. This is one of head coach Mike Brey’s best defensive teams, and he has an inside-outside game spearheaded by Colson and point guard Matt Farrell. Could a third straight Elite Eight appearance be on the horizon for the Irish?
Midwest Region
Louisville F Deng Adel: If there was any saving grace to take from the Cardinals’ short stay in the ACC Tournament in Brooklyn, it was the play of the 6-foot-7 sophomore. Adel was aggressive in the loss to Duke, scoring a team-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting in 38 minutes. He made 2 of his 6 long-range shots, and he connected on five of his six free-throw attempts on a day when Louisville struggled from the charity stripe. It was Adel’s second-highest point total of the season. As I wrote earlier in the week, Donovan Mitchell is the guard that the Cardinals will need to ride toward a potential Final Four berth and national championship. But getting key baskets from Adel as well as him continuing to play like one of the ACC’s best defenders (he is versatile and has the ability to guard multiple positions) will be keys to Louisville’s championship aspirations. Adel is known for his strong work ethic and hunger to improve. His game will need to keep escalating if Rick Pitino and Co. are to claim another title.
South Region
North Carolina F Justin Jackson: The Tar Heels wouldn’t be a national championship contender without Jackson, whose 34-point effort on 10-of-17 shooting in the shootout loss to Kentucky early in the season was overlooked a bit because of Malik Monk’s 47. The small forward has improved in all areas of his game, especially from downtown, as he is connecting on 37.7 percent of his long-distance shots. But over his last four games, he is only 7-of-31 from 3-point range, and he doesn’t seem to be as aggressive driving to the basket as we have seen him throughout the 2016-17 campaign. UNC needs him and Joel Berry II to be at their very best if it has any designs on making another appearance in the national title game.
…In other ACC news, Georgia Tech defeated Indiana, while Clemson fell to Oakland in NIT action on Tuesday night.
#ACCMBB in #NIT: Okogie, Jackson Lead @GTMBB Past Indiana; Oakland Takes Down @ClemsonMBB in Opening Round of NIT: https://t.co/JW2cckOBeW pic.twitter.com/brO4I1zrIu
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) March 15, 2017
Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner has done an outstanding job in his first season in Atlanta, squeezing every ounce of energy out of his squad. He was well-deserving of winning the league’s coach of the year honor this season.
