I don't want to get on a rant about the ACC, but..

[GarySJ]

Note: R-rated swear words left in for stylistic purposes. Skip it if you can't deal with it.

In all this week's Bubble Talk, am I the only one who's getting sick and tired of watching the ACC get its ass kissed more than Donald Trump during an six-DVD box set of The Apprentice?

When it comes to NCAA at-large bids, the ACC gets more preferential treatment than Rush Limbaugh at a National Review buffet.

Duke, North Carolina, and Wake Forest are all very good teams that will likely go far in the NCAAs. Unfortunately, those are the only ones who should be getting invites.

But like the Hilton sisters, the next five teams in the ACC gumming order not only managed to get themselves into the limelight for absolutely no reason, they managed to stay there without ever getting any better.

Yes, Virginia, the ACC is a three-bid league this year. Maybe four if Georgia Tech proves its losses without B.J. Elder were a fluke, by beating one of the ACC's Triumverate of Non-Suckiness in the conference tournament.

And yet, yesterday, someone at CBS Sportsline had the audacity to suggest that EIGHT, count'em, eight ACC teams could get bids. Personally, I can't name eight ACC teams that deserve bids to the ACC Tournament. Or the Big East Tournament, for that matter.

Case in point: this season, St. John's won three Big East games. They also won two ACC games. No wonder all the Big East schools wanted to defect.

To give you an idea what I'm talking about, let's look at a Sportsline article from this morning. Maryland lost in the play-in round of the ACC Tournament to Clemson, a basketball team that was last relevant when the Grant twins were young and fresh-faced enough to appear in Doublemint Gum commercials.

WASHINGTON -- Maryland's reign as Atlantic Coast Conference champion is over, courtesy of yet another whipping by unheralded Clemson (16-14, 5-11).

The loss was a serious blow to the Terrapins' (16-12, 7-10) bid to reach the NCAA Tournament for the 12th straight season. Maryland has lost four straight and five of six, the lone win in that stretch a double-overtime escape against last-place Virginia.

"Serious blow?" Yeah, and being shot by Lee Harvey Oswald was a serious blow to JFK's political career.

Come on, I think that's a great line. The Bill Clinton joke would have been too easy.

Give me a f*cking break, Maryland. You're 16-12, you're 7-10 in conference, you've lost 7 of your last 10 games, you've been pimpslapped by Clemson three times in five weeks, and your only non-conference wins are over Memphis before they were any good, and Temple before John Chaney started taking strategic advice from the 1974 Philadelphia Flyers.

Maryland, you're done. Period. End of discussion. Next case. Enjoy the NIT. Try not to get your asses kicked by Davidson. Now get off my Bubble Watch. I want to hear about the good teams.

And yet, all the major media sources insist on keeping Maryland on the NCAA bubble, even after a loss that would prompt most schools to lock up the gym until Midnight Madness and issue a public apology.

Here's some more horrifying evidence of the preferential treatment ACC teams are getting, also regarding Maryland, also from CBS Sportsline:

Here is the Terrapins' case for a 12th consecutive NCAA tourney berth: They were the No. 42 team in the latest RPI; boasted the ninth toughest schedule in the country; was fifth among ACC teams in RPI ratings, with the third toughest schedule in the league.

Let's take a look at that "ninth toughest schedule in the country," shall we?

Jackson State (15-16, 11-8 SWAC) Won 93-57

Mercer (16-12, 11-10 Atlantic Sun) Won 93-67

@Memphis (17-14, 10-7 CUSA) Won 84-61

@Wisconsin (20-7, 11-5 Big Ten) Lost 64-69

George Mason (16-13, 10-8 Colonial) Won 78-54

@George Washington (20-7, 11-5 A-10) Lost 92-101

NC-Asheville (11-17, 8-9 Big South) Won 96-72

American (16-12, 9-6 Patriot League) Won 82-61

Liberty (13-15, 11-6 Big South) Won 112-68

Mount St. Mary´s (7-20, 5-13 Northeast) Won 85-53

Temple (15-12, 11-5 A-10) Won 80-69

I count one legit NCAA team (Wisconsin, whom Maryland lost to), one bubble team (G.W., whom Maryland lost to), two NIT teams (Memphis and Temple), and 7 games against the Washington Generals dressed in different uniforms. One for each day of the week.

Then there's the grueling conference schedule, where Maryland got to play 12 of its 17 games against teams not named Wake Forest, Duke, North Carolina, Top 25 Opponent, or Team Who Can Play Any Defense Whatsoever.

If this is the 9th-toughest schedule in the country, then George W. Bush is the 9th-smartest president in American history.

And if you look at the resumes of NC State, Virginia Tech, Miami, and Georgia Tech, they're all just like Maryland's. Seven non-conference pushovers. A few wins over NIT teams. Losses to the few Top 25 teams they played. Some really embarassing losses, like VMI. Even the Iraqi Air Force doesn't lose to VMI. And finally, a bunch of wins against each other. Now I see why no ACC school would hire George O'Leary -- they don't need to lie on their resume.

But hey, that's enough to get you to 16-12/7-9 in the ACC. Which qualifies you for an NCAA bid, or at least 10 minutes of face time during the Selection Show to whine about not getting one. It's called the Dave Odom clause. If two locker rooms are shown live as the bracket is unveiled, and one of them is down Tobacco Road, get the Kleenex ready.

You know who everybody has on the bubble, usually at the expense of at least one of the above crimes against quality basketball? The University of Iowa. They went 7-9 in conference, yes, but clearly that isn't an obstacle for Maryland or NC State. No advantage there.

Iowa won 20 games. Iowa beat Louisville. Iowa beat Texas. Iowa beat Iowa State. Iowa beat Northern Iowa, a team which is getting some at-large consideration.

Iowa beat Air Force. And if that doesn't impress you, go read Georgia Tech's schedule and tell me that isn't the #2 highlight of their season (the other being a season split with Wake Forest).

Iowa also played North Carolina, and lost badly. Supposedly this counts against the Hawkeyes. But when NC State, Va Tech, Miami, Maryland, and the Ramblin Wreck do the same thing, it's called "building strength of schedule."

Yet, on almost every bubble list I see, Iowa is somehow behind Maryland and NC State in the chow line, even though all five ACC bubble teams combined don't have a roster of non conference wins like Iowa does. There are even rumors that Steve Alford will be fired.

What the f*ck am I missing, here? Are you not entitled to respect in men's basketball unless you also have a lacrosse team and a football coach named Bowden, in a division that sounds it was sponsored by a van line?

"And now, the ACC Coastal Division standings, brought to you by Coastal Division Trucking." See, it sounds perfect.

I'll give you another example: Vanderbilt. 18-12 overall, 8-8 in the SEC. Played a few good teams out of conference and lost to most of them. Beat some NIT teams like Dayton, TCU and Toledo. Beat Alabama in SEC play. Not a great resume, but how great does it have to be during a season where you can get a daily RPI report from the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat writer?

And finally... am I the only one who's noticed how much better Miami and Virginia Tech are doing in basketball now that they've left the Big East for the ACC? There's a point you won't hear **** Vitale make any time soon. Or any other point, for that matter.

But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

[CyberBull]

GarySJ at his best.   ;D

[ChiTownBull]

relax IOWA is IN after beating Mich St

I have a friend that went to U of Illinois and he can't stomach ESPN and their ACC bias.

Though he is so biased towards the big 10 it isn't even funny.

I bet next yr 95% of this board will show bias towards the BE

[bulls96go]

good point about miami and va tech?

cellar dewellers in the be mid pack in the acc!

[ChiTownBull]

good point about miami and va tech?

cellar dewellers in the be mid pack in the acc!

not to defend the ACC but every yr is a new yr

GA Tech was in the championship game last yr and this yr they are in the middle of the pack in the ACC

[USFPhil]

next year this board probably will show bias toward the BE but that is different than ESPN an independent NEWS organization showing bias to the ACC.

[ChiTownBull]

next year this board probably will show bias toward the BE but that is different than ESPN an independent NEWS organization showing bias to the ACC.

thats what happens when you hire people from the acc

like jay billas (duke)  and stuart scott (unc)

just like ABC during football (that huge dude from ND)

ESPN in not an indy

[GarySJ]

not to defend the ACC but every yr is a new yr

Yes, it is. But what kills me is that in men's hoops you NEVER hear the annual "which conference is best?" debate like you do in football. In a given year of football, the SEC, Big 12 or Big Ten might be the top league.

But hoops, it's just assumed ACC is Almighty God and all others bow to them, even though all it takes is a glance at the schedules to see how far the bottom 73% of the league has slipped.

Just once, I wish someone would say "gee, it's a bit of a down year for the ACC. Maybe the Big Ten/SEC/Big XII/Big East/Pac-10 is the best conference this season."

The other thing that kills me is the double standard about missing good players. The rap against Iowa was "they lost their best player" even though they were beating good teams like Ohio State and Michigan State after they suspended Pierre Pierce. As late as yesterday, one guy was saying they had to win the Big Ten tournament to qualify, even with all the good wins they had. Fortunately, the committee did the right thing and put the Hawkeyes in at-large.

Meanwhile, Gregg Doyel at CBS is having a boo-hoo fest for Wake Forest because they got pushed all the way down to a number two seed after taking a 16-point loss from a mediocre NC State team in the ACC Semifinals. The loss "should have been mitigated by the one-game suspension of All-America point guard Chris Paul. It was not." You know, because falling part when you're short one guy is the hallmark of a true #1 seed.

In other words, Iowa suspends a player for misconduct, beats good teams without him, and should still be punished in the form of having to do more to impress the selection committee. Wake Forest suspends a player for misconduct, loses to a so-so team without him, and they're entitled to a free pass.

Not to mention that NC State got full credit for winning that game with Wake. If you're going to give Wake a pass for losing with a certain disadvantage, don't you have to minimize the credit to the team that beat them as well? Apparently not.

The twisted logic people use to justify the ACC's unfounded elitism just gives me a headache sometimes.

[GarySJ]

And since we've already got a thread bashing the pompous ACC and its ridiculous snobbery, here's a good bit o' hilarity from this morning's news:

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Pete Gillen stepped down as Virginia basketball coach Monday, ending a seven-year tenure marked by just one trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Among the names prominently mentioned are Texas coach Rick Barnes, who once agreed to leave Providence for the Virginia job but later changed his mind, Kentucky's Tubby Smith and Mike Brey of Notre Dame.

TUBBY SMITH? Yeah, who the hell wants to coach at Kentucky when you can be the head man at UVa? I know he's from Virginia, but give me a break. Idiots.

[Bull Matrix]

ESPN has a few BIG EAST guys in  Mike Tirico (Syracuse alum), Sean McDonough (Syracuse alum) **** Vitale (Seton Hall alum), Digger Phelps (former coach for Notre Dame),