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Beltway Basketball Beat: Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Tech face February Frenzy

By Dave Preston

The college basketball season like none before it enters what is technically the shortest month of the year.

And while February often feels like the longest month of the season in normal times (when the schedule gets underway in early to mid-November), in 2021 every day a team’s program isn’t on pause is a gift.

Don’t look now, but Virginia and Virginia Tech are both contending for the ACC Regular Season Championship. And while Maryland’s win over No. 24 Purdue places them on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, they’re only one bad loss away from being on the outside looking in.

The lack of nonconference opportunities may limit the at-large hopes of Richmond and VCU, but the Capital City Challenge that was postponed in January has a new date — Feb. 17. It’s far from March Madness — but a little February Frenzy is good for the soul. Isn’t it?

Wow of the Week: Georgetown hadn’t played for 21 days due to COVID-19 concerns and the Hoyas hadn’t won a game since Dec. 13. Despite the rust the Hoyas eked out a 73-72 victory over Providence thanks to a missed free throw with 1.5 seconds left. After the lack of success and absence of games this might not turn the season around completely but does give Patrick Ewing’s program a bit of a breather.

Player Spotlight: Keve Aluma picked the perfect time to have a career day. The Virginia Tech junior exploded for 29 points (on 10-15 shooting) and 10 rebounds in the Hokies’ 65-51 win over ACC leader Virginia. It was the Wofford transfer’s fourth double-double of the season and Tech is 4-0 in those games. In pre-pandemic times, I’d say give that man a smoked turkey leg (the ones prepared at Lane Stadium are beyond delicious).

League Look: The Colonial Athletic Association might not be holding its postseason tournament at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in D.C., but there does look to be a local flavor in the conference race. James Madison (9-5, 4-1) is in second place and split with league-leading Northeastern last month. Five of the Dukes’ remaining seven games on their schedule at this time are at home. And the CAA Tournament will be held on their campus in Harrisonburg. Northeastern (8-6, 7-1) advanced to the Tournament Championship Game last year while defending champ Hofstra (11-6, 7-3) has won five in a row.

Ballot Battles: While the elite continue to cruise (or in Michigan’s case, quarantine) the Top 25’s middle class mostly muddled. Six of my teams that I had between ninth and 17th went 1-1, muddying up the waters even more. Such is the case of the “second 10” — good enough to be in the mix, but somehow not consistent enough to move into the penthouse. Tough omissions included Illinois, Florida, Oklahoma State and Loyola (Ill). Non-Power 5 high fives go to Belmont, Drake, Boise State and St. Bonaventure.

Starting Five (Games of note involving local schools):

Wednesday

No. 16 Virginia Tech (13-3, 7-2 ACC) at Pitt (8-5, 4-4), 7 p.m. (ACCN). The Hokies are coming off of a 14-point win over Virginia, but still are without the suspended Tyrece Radford. There’s nothing that takes the air out of a team’s sails better than an underwhelming effort a few days after a big win. The Panthers have dropped three in a row, including a 26-point clunker at home to sub-500 Notre Dame. And their win over Duke has lost a ton of its luster.

Georgetown (4-8, 2-5 Big East) at No. 15 Creighton (13-4, 9-3), 9 p.m. (FS1). Squeaking past a Providence team that’s playing tag with .500 is one thing, going on the road and beating an NCAA contender is another. The Bluejays lead the conference in scoring (83 points per game) and rank second in the league at turning teams over as well as shooting the three. But their Achilles’ heel is the fact that they’re the worst rebounding team in the Big East-Georgetown currently ranks first and in a season where they can’t shoot (9th in the league) nor take care of the ball (last in turnover margin) that can be a major equalizer. Can it help them win two straight conference games?

Friday

Maryland (10-8, 4-7 Big Ten) at Penn State (6-8, 3-7), 7 p.m. (FS1). Resistible force against movable object? The Nittany Lions allow the most points per game in the Big Ten, but the Terps score the second fewest points per game in the league. And Happy Valley has been more miserable lately for the Terps, who have dropped four straight regular season games in State College, Pennsylvania. Under interim coach Jim Ferry (Patrick Chambers was fired in November after an investigation into his conduct) Penn State has won three of five, with their two losses to ranked foes Ohio State and Wisconsin (they did beat the Badgers once in a COVID-caused two-game series).

George Mason (8-7, 4-5 Atlantic 10) at Dayton (10-4, 6-3), 7 p.m. (ESPN2). The Patriots begin February with a ton of possibilities: While they’re just a game and a half out of fourth place in the conference and the coveted double bye, GMU is also one half game above 11th place and a spot in the dreaded first round. The Flyers won the January meeting 74-65 as Jalen Crutcher poured in 26 points. Stopping the junior is easier said than done: The guard makes 52% of his shots and 43% from three-point range.

Saturday

No. 14 Virginia (11-3, 7-1 ACC) vs. Louisville (11-4, 6-3), 4 p.m. (ESPN). We’re going light on the weekend to give you a chance to get ready for the Super Bowl. The Cardinals have been in and out of the Top 25 this year thanks to solid play from senior transfer Carlik Jones (Radford). The Cavaliers are also benefiting from the transfer route with ex-Marquette forward Sam Hauser leading the team in scoring and rebounding. UVa is 7-0 at John Paul Jones Arena this season and has won 13 straight at home.

2022 ACC Tournament Bracket: How to watch, dates, preview, location

By Matt Weyrich
ACC Tournament Bracket and preview originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe ACC has been one of the most dominant conferences in the history of NCAA men's basketball. With three of the last six March Madness champions calling the conference home, the 2022 ACC Tournament will feature some of the NCAA’s premier men’s basketball programs going head-to-head before the big event the following week.However, this is a bit of an unusual year for the ACC — there are only four teams you could actually claim to be tournament 'locks' at this point in the season. There are three more on or around the bubble and everyone else is in an auto-bid or bust mentality. Duke is projected to earn the best seed for the NCAA Tournament. In head coach Mike Krzyzewski's final season, the Blue Devils could be anywhere from a No. 2 seed to a No. 4 seed. Where they fall in the ACC Tournament will likely dictate where Duke is slotted. Early season losses put them in a hole, but the unpredictability of the rest of the conference evened the score to help them claim the No. 1 seed.That could create a more competitive field than in years past. North Carolina, Miami, Florida State and Virginia all have shown they can best the Blue Devils. Three of those losses even came on their own floor. And on top of that, Wake Forest, the Cavaliers, the Seminoles, Syracuse and more are playing for their seasons.How will the 2022 ACC Tournament shake out? Here’s everything you need to know.ACC TOURNAMENT 2021 INFORMATION:  When is the 2022 ACC Tournament?The ACC Tournament will be held from March 8-12. The ACC Championship Game is on Saturday, March 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET.Where is the 2022 ACC Tournament? The ACC Tournament will be held at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, NY. This is just the second time the event has been held in Brooklyn.How to watch the 2022 ACC Tournament The First Round of the ACC Tournament will be broadcast on ACC Network. The Second Round will be broadcast across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The Quarterfinals and Semifinals will be on ESPN and ESPN2. The ACC Championship will be broadcast on ESPN.All ESPN programming is available for streaming at Watch ESPN with a valid cable subscription.Who is the defending 2021 ACC Champion? Georgia Tech shocked the ACC - thanks to an assist with Virginia missing their semifinal contest due to a positive coronavirus test - to win the 2021 ACC Championship over Florida State. Head coach Josh Pastner became a household sensation with his face shield.2022 ACC TOURNAMENT BRACKET:ACC Tournament First Round (3/8, Times ET) - No. 13 Boston College d. No. 12 Pittsburgh 66-46- No. 10 Clemson d. No. 15 NC State 70-64- No. 11 Louisville d. No. 14 Georgia Tech 84-74ACC Tournament Second Round (3/9, Times ET)- No. 9 Syracuse d. No. 8 Florida State 96-57- No. 13 Boston College d. No. 5 Wake Forest 82-77 (OT)- No. 7 Virginia Tech d. No. 10 Clemson 76-75 (OT)- No. 6 Virginia d. No. 11 Louisville 51-50ACC Tournament Quarterfinals (3/10, Times ET)- No. 1 Duke d. No. 9 Syracuse 88-79- No. 4 Miami d. No. 13 Boston College 71-69 (OT)- No. 7 Virginia Tech d. No. 2 Notre Dame 87-80- No. 3 North Carolina d. No. 6 Virginia 63-43ACC Tournament Semifinals (3/11, Times ET) - No. 1 Duke d. No. 4 Miami 80-76- No. 7 Virginia Tech d. No. 3 North Carolina 72-59ACC Tournament Championship (3/12, Time ET) - No. 7 Virginia Tech d. No. 1 Duke 82-672022 ACC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: Far and away, Duke is the best team in the ACC this season. The Blue Devils are coached by the best coach in the league, have a top-three NBA Draft pick on their roster and may have a multitude of playmakers - which is rare in the rest of the conference.Yet, the consistency is not there for the team with the No. 1 seed. Quiet nights by ACC Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero paired with off-shooting performances by Wendell Moore Jr. are huge reasons for their four conference losses.Then again, no one in the ACC has shown any level of consistency either. Notre Dame has silently put together a solid year behind Blake Wesley and Dane Goodwin. A favorable schedule - where they never played any of the top eight teams more than once - led them here and the Fighting Irish took advantage. The lack of playmaking guards that run an offense, though, and a deep bench are concerning. It's not conducive to winning three games in three days.North Carolina - after their stunning upset in Cameron Indoor over the weekend - and Miami both showed they have what it takes to topple Duke and have a favorable bracket to see the Blue Devils later in the tournament.Injuries are no longer a hindrance for the Hurricanes, following the lead of Kameron McGusty's 17.5 ppg and 36.8% shooting mark from deep.Let's not forget ACC Player of the Year and the conference's second-leading scorer Alondes Williams at Wake Forest. His Demon Deacons are the deepest team in the conference. Can they finally put it all together for one weekend? If so, they may be the darkhorse team to try and make the semifinals.Everyone else, though, is in desperate mode besides those five teams. Virginia Tech and Virginia need a significant win or two to be considered for an at-large bid. The teams behind them just have eyes only on a championship to extend their seasons.Pick: No. 1 Duke Blue Devils
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