ACC gang has look of old Big East
The Atlantic Coast Conference comes into the NCAA Tournament with three No. 1 seeds.
Putting three teams in the Final Four is a different matter.
The last time one league had three teams in the national semifinals was 1985, the year the field expanded to 64 teams. Georgetown and St. John’s arrived as Big East behemoths, only to be upstaged when conference rival Villanova took the title.
The ACC’s top-seeded trio this year is Duke, North Carolina and Virginia. The last time three No. 1 seeds won their regionals was in 2015, when Kentucky, Duke and Wisconsin did it.
Only one other time has a league gotten three No. 1 seeds. In 2009, Louisville, Connecticut and Pittsburgh did it for the Big East. Connecticut lost in the national semifinals, while Louisville and Pittsburgh went out in the Elite Eight. None of those teams are in the Big East anymore.
Here are a few more things to watch in the NCAA Tournament:
REGIONAL OF CHAMPIONS:
If the seeds hold, the Sweet 16 in the Midwest Regional could be quite a spectacle. Top-seeded North Carolina, second-seeded Kentucky and fourth-seeded Kansas would all end up in Kansas City. Even third-seeded Houston has some history to offer, having made the national title game twice during the 1980s.
With UCLA out of the picture this year, Kentucky’s eight titles are the most by any team in the field. North Carolina is second with six. Those teams have met in the regional finals twice in the past eight years, with Kentucky winning in 2011 and North Carolina in 2017.
Kentucky beat Kansas in the national title game in 2012. And of course, if North Carolina faces Kansas in the Sweet 16, that would pit Tar Heels coach Roy Williams against his former team — with plenty of Jayhawks fans in attendance to welcome him back.
FAMILIAR FOES:
Buffalo would face its former coach if Bobby Hurley can guide Arizona State past its First Four matchup with St. John’s. If Duke meets Central Florida in the second round, Mike Krzyzewski would be up against UCF coach Johnny Dawkins. Dawkins was a star for the Blue Devils when they made their first Final Four run under Krzyzewski in 1986.