By JOSH NEWMAN
Last season, the ACC sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament, five of which went to the Sweet 16 before Duke won the national championship. The six teams’ combined NCAA Tournament winning percentage of .773 was tops among all conferences last season.
With that to follow up on, at least one ACC head coach believes 2015-16 can be an even better year for the league.
“I do think this year, I have the feel that I had those last couple years in the Big East where we had eight or nine NCAA Tournament teams and that kind of depth,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey told SNY.tv on the 4 Quarters Podcast Tuesday afternoon. “That last couple years of the Big East was off the charts and then we had that one year (2011) where we got 11 bids.
“I think this is the year we’re gonna be in position to get half our league in, eight bids. I really believe that.”
Brey’s feeling that half the ACC can get into next year’s NCAA Tournament is easy to understand.
North Carolina is in the mix to be the preseason No. 1 team in the nation, Duke is coming off a national championship and lost key players, but is coming back with another loaded recruiting class, and while Virginia lost Justin Anderson to the NBA Draft, the Cavaliers are still expected to open 2015-16 as a top-10 team. Beyond those three, the Fighting Irish, Louisville, North Carolina State and Miami are all expected to be in the NCAA Tournament mix with Syracuse potentially acting as the eighth NCAA team.
The bottom line is that a year after the ACC made big noise at the NCAA Tournament, the league could be primed to be even louder next season.
Notre Dame figures to be in the mix despite losing seniors Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton to the NBA. With those two leading the charge, the Fighting Irish won 32 games, the ACC Tournament and took Kentucky to the limit before falling to the undefeated Wildcats in the Midwest Regional final last season.
With Grant and Connaughton gone, much of the leadership will now fall on junior guards Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia, as well as senior power forward Zach Auguste.
“Auguste has stepped into that role this summer and Jackson has a very strong personality and it’s kind of his to run the show now,” Brey said. “Steve Vasturia being more vocal for us is important and even Austin Burgett, a senior for us. He hasn’t played a whole lot, he’s been injury-prone, but you know what? He has set a great tone for young guys, helping them get adjusted to how we do things.”
Notre Dame’s roster also bears watching from the viewpoint of the tri-state area as Iona Prep star Matt Ryan and Blair Academy’s Elijah Burns will open their careers in South Bend this winter. Brey, who has coached the likes of shooting greats Kyle McAlarney, Colin Falls and Matt Carroll, expects Ryan to be on that level.
“Our program’s been known for having great shooters and we’ve had a lot of great ones,” Brey said. “Matt Ryan will be there with any of them at the end of the day.”
Photo: USA Today Sports
