August 23, 2007

Bob McClellan
Rivals.com College Basketball Editor

? THE COUNTDOWN:
? No. 50: Oklahoma State
? No. 51: St. Joe's
? No. 52: Va. Commonwealth
? No. 53: Georgia Tech
? Top 64 Countdown

The Atlantic Coast Conference released its complete men's basketball schedule Thursday, and it includes 155 games on national television.

The non-conference slate is highlighted by the ninth annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge Nov. 26-28, of which the ACC has won the first eight. Conference play begins Dec. 9 in College Park as Maryland plays host to Boston College.

Eighty-nine of the league's 96 conference games (93 percent) are scheduled to be televised.

Here's a quick look at the highlights of each ACC schedule. For our purposes we've defined a quality nonconference opponent as a team that played in the postseason last year and/or is in the Rivals.com Top 64 for 2007-08.

No, we don't think a school should get credit just for scheduling a game against a BCS school. Teams that go 4-12 in conference play are not quality opponents.

ACC Schedule Breakdown
Boston College
Quality nonconference opponents: Rhode Island, at Michigan, Providence (neutral site), Saint Louis, Massachusetts, Kansas Tough stretch: at North Carolina, at Clemson, Maryland, at Duke Comment: Some of the quality opponents may not be marquee names, but they won't be pushovers for the rebuilding Eagles.
Clemson
Quality nonconference opponents: at Mississippi State, Old Dominion, Purdue, DePaul (San Juan Shootout), Ole Miss (San Juan Shootout), at Alabama Tough stretch: at Virginia, at North Carolina, vs. Georgia Tech, at N.C. State Comment: The SEC opponents will provide a stiff test; ODU, Purdue and DePaul experienced heavy personnel losses.
Duke
Quality nonconference opponents: New Mexico State, Eastern Kentucky, Wisconsin, Davidson (neutral site), Michigan, Pittsburgh (neutral site) Tough stretch: at N.C. State, at Virginia, North Carolina Comment: The Blue Devils don't play any non-conference games at true road sites, though they will test their mettle at the Maui Invitational and against Pittsburgh in New York.
Florida State
Quality nonconference opponents: UAB (neutral site), at Florida, Minnesota, Butler (neutral site), at Providence Tough stretch: Butler (in Indianapolis), Charleston, at Providence, at Georgia Tech Comment: The Seminoles better beat the Golden Gophers in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge because I don't like their chances against their other quality non-conference opponents.
Georgia Tech
Quality nonconference opponents: at Indiana, at Vanderbilt, Kansas, at Georgia Tough stretch: at Indiana, at Vanderbilt, at Georgia State, Kansas Comment: The Yellow Jackets will be without starting center Ra'Sean Dickey (8.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) for the first semester (academically ineligible), meaning he'll miss the stretch against the Hoosiers, Commodores and Panthers. The earliest he could return is for the game against the Jayhawks, and he won't be able to change the outcome of that one.
Maryland
Quality nonconference opponents: Illinois, VCU (neutral site), Delaware, Holy Cross Tough stretch: Wake Forest, at North Carolina, Duke Comment: The Terrapins should pick up a quality opponent during play in the season-opening CBE Classic, and they'll need to. Otherwise it's a baker's-delight slate with no true road games, only a couple of neutral-site tests.
Miami
Quality nonconference opponents: at Mississippi State, Winthrop (neutral site), Penn Tough stretch: at Boston College, at N.C. State, North Carolina Comment: There's a chance the Hurricanes will pick up another quality opponent in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. It's not a very enticing non-conference schedule, but it should allow UM to pile up some victories.
North Carolina
Quality nonconference opponents: Davidson (neutral site), Old Dominion (neutral site), at Ohio State, at Kentucky, at Penn, Nevada Tough stretch: Las Vegas Invitational final, at Ohio State, at Kentucky Comment: It's possible the Tar Heels, Rivals.com's Preseason No. 1, won't play a team ranked in the top 25 in the non-conference schedule. The Buckeyes and/or Wildcats may have moved their way in by the time the teams meet.
N.C. State
Quality nonconference opponents: at Michigan State, Davidson Tough stretch: North Carolina, at Virginia, Florida State, Duke, at Wake Forest Comment: The Wolfpack is ranked 18th in our preseason poll, and it should be playing a better schedule than this one. It's likely a quality opponent will be added at the early season Old Spice Classic in Orlando, but the slate is still weak.
Virginia
Quality nonconference opponents: Vermont, at Arizona, Drexel, Syracuse, at Xavier Tough stretch: North Carolina, at Boston College, at Georgia Tech, N.C. State Comment: The Cavaliers have a tough, balanced non-conference slate. They're also the only ACC team in the Rivals.com Top 64 besides Georgia Tech that is willing to test itself in a true road atmosphere early in the season.
Virginia Tech
Quality nonconference opponents: George Washington, at Old Dominion, Hofstra Tough stretch: at Virginia, at Georgia Tech, Duke, at Boston College Comment: The non-conference slate will pick up a quality opponent or two at the Great Alaska Shootout, but with heavy graduation losses it's a good year for a mundane schedule for the Hokies.
Wake Forest
Quality nonconference opponents: at Iowa, at Vanderbilt, at Georgia, Air Force, Brigham Young Tough stretch: Duke, at North Carolina, Maryland, at Georgia Tech, at Virginia Tech, N.C. State Comment: Everyone will be rooting for the Demon Deacons in the wake of Skip Prosser's death, but the going will be rough. The Hawkeyes, Commodores and Bulldogs will be difficult to beat on the road, and the "tough stretch" happens to be the final six regular-season games.

Bob McClellan is the college basketball editor for Rivals.com. He can be reached at bmcclellan@rivals.com.