ACC homestretch column

My ACC column that appeared in Friday's edition ...

Surprise teams are surfacing. Rivals have met. We are on the cusp of the term “on the bubble” entering our everyday vocabulary.

Yep, it’s February.

March is the month that gets all the hype in college hoops, and rightfully so, but the teams that get to lace them up for the NCAA Tournament solidify their resumes — or don’t — this month.

If the season ended today, the Atlantic Coast Conference would be in pretty good shape to get at least seven in the Big Dance. Things could change, but North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Virginia, Florida State and Boston College, not only would get in, but all would have a solid shot at being seeded eighth or higher in the tourney.

Georgia Tech (15-8) and Maryland (17-7) have decent overall marks but they both will have to have a better showing down the stretch and in the ACC Tournament to make the “field of 65” (that will always sound weird).

Maybe North Carolina is the only team with Final Four-caliber talent in the league this year. But if the ACC does get seven or more in the dance, it says a lot about a conference that many dismissed as being “too young” at the start of the season.

While it’s always fun to talk about March, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. There’s still a tight league battle at the top — essentially turning into a four-horse race between BC, Virginia, UNC and Virginia Tech.

I said it at the start of the ACC season and I’ll stick with it, it’s hard to pick against the firepower and coaching the Tar Heels have in their arsenal, especially if freshman Ty Lawson continues to be unguardable at the point. I like BC, UVA and VT in that order behind UNC.

Despite recent setbacks, I still probably would pick Duke to slip in the top four. Yet with four of its last six on the road, it won’t be easy for the Devils to finish higher than fifth.

They are all big from here on out, but here’s a few key games that will go a long way in deciding how the conference shakes out ...

Saturday: UVA at VT; Feb.13: VT at UNC; Feb. 14: Duke at BC; Feb. 17: UNC at BC; Feb. 21: BC at VT, NCS at UNC; March 1: VT at Virginia and of course, March 4: Duke at UNC.

My just-past-midseason picks to bring home ACC honors:

All-ACC: J.R. Reynolds (UVA); Zabian Dowdell (VT); Al Thornton (FSU); Jared Dudley (BC); Tyler Hansbrough (UNC).

All Freshman: Ty Lawson (UNC); Javaris Crittendon (GT); Jon Scheyer (Duke); Brandan Wright (UNC); Brandon Costner (NCS).