Florida State, the sixth-place team in the ACC, beats No. 4 Duke. Georgia Tech, last in the ACC, beats fourth-placed Virginia. Fifth-placed North Carolina beats No. 25 Clemson in double overtime. Welcome to ACC women's basketball.
Heading into last night's games, four ACC teams were 6-5 in the conference and trailed Duke's sparkling 9-1 conference record. The only sure thing was Duke's place atop an otherwise egalitarian pack.
"I think the parity in the conference is phenomenal," Georgia Tech coach Agnes Berenato said. "I'm not surprised that Florida State beat Duke ... that's the conference."
Call it excitement; call it confusion; call it what you will, but Florida State's upset win over the Blue Devils is typical of what Clemson coach Jim Davis called the "wacky" ACC.
Davis maintained, after his team won at Virginia, that any team could beat any other team in the ACC on any given day, with Duke (21-2, 9-2 ACC) the lone exception.
Although the Seminoles disproved his predictions about Duke, the rest of his theory proved all-too-true for his team last night. Clemson (15-8, 6-6) fell to unranked North Carolina (13-9, 7-5) in double overtime, 100-99.
Perhaps the unpredictability of conference games speaks for the overall strength of the ACC. The closest thing in the ACC to a historic power like the University of Connecticut or Tennessee is Virginia, but league competition pushes teams to make every game their best.
"It's obviously a very balanced league this year ... it's just gotten better and better and any night you can lose," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "You have to be prepared every night, you have to come out and execute the game plan and do what you're supposed to do every night."
"The ACC is, without a doubt I think, the best conference in the country," Berenato said.
Consider it history in the making. Florida State beat Virginia for the first time Jan. 24. Georgia Tech beat Cavaliers at home for the first time ever last night.
It also means there are fewer throwaway games. Every conference matchup is exciting, with underdogs nipping at every team's heels. Not even Duke can take a streak for granted: They were on a 12-win roll when Florida State stopped them dead in their tracks.
Georgia Tech showed a flagrant disregard for the rankings last night with their resounding 15-point victory after five conference losses.
"We're in last place [in the ACC]," Berenato said. "But we feel like we can beat anyone in the conference."
Come the ACC Tournament in early March, the Yellow Jackets will get their chance to prove Berenato right.
Chances are, it will be a tournament worth watching.
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