University of Virginia Library

From The Sidelines

Who's Going
To Win
The ACC?

by Tom Bell

THE FIRST SEASON ENDS TOMORROW NIGHT, when
the Cavaliers meet Maryland in what promises to be a
jam-packed and deafeningly-loud Cole Field House.
Indications from College Park are that the Terrapins
desperately want to beat the Cavaliers and revenge the 78-57
drubbing they received in University Hall in December. In
addition, the game could potentially have a great effect on the
final conference standings and the draw for the all-important
ACC Tournament to be held next weekend in Greensboro,
N.C.

Should hot-and-cold Duke upset North Carolina Saturday, a
Cavalier win would bring Virginia the conference
regular-season title outright and a first-round tournament bye.
Should Maryland and Duke win, the conference race would
end in a three-way tie, between the Cavaliers, the Terrapins,
and Carolina and the resulting possibilities as far as the
tournament draw are concerned baffle the mind.

A DUKE WIN, HOWEVER, IS UNLIKELY. The game is in
Carolina's Carmichael Auditorium, where the Tar Heels have
not lost in two years, and after Monday night's one-point loss
to N. C. State, Carolina is probably not about to have another
lapse. Duke is an unpredictable team, however, and the only
one to beat all three of the conference's leaders. When the Tar
Heels and Blue Devils get together, unpredictable things seem
to happen with almost predictable regularity, so the Devils
cannot be disregarded. Their poor performance against
Clemson Wednesday night (they lost 59-40) shows that they
may have been looking ahead to Saturday's big contest.

Nevertheless, the Tar Heels should win and sew up the top
seeding in the tournament on the basis of their two regular
season victories over the Cavaliers. Both the Terrapins and the
Cavaliers will know the outcome of the Duke-Carolina game
before taking the floor, and in the event of a Tar Heel win, the
Saturday night game will become a contest for psychological,
rather than tangible, reward, for the tournament draw will be
essentially determined.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL REWARDS THAT WOULD
result from a Wahoo win are of major importance. First, a win
would give the Wahoos a share of the conference title, a first
for the team which has never before finished in the league's
first division. In addition, there is the often-discussed factor of
momentum. Wins over major foes have been few and far
between for the Cavaliers in last month, and, after last
weekend's loss to North Carolina a season-closing victory
would certainly boost the Cavaliers' confidence, an important
element in tournament play. Finally, if things go as expected,
the Wahoos will almost certainly have to meet the Terrapins
again next week in the semi-finals of the tournament. With
two regular season wins over Maryland, Virginia would
certainly have the pre-game edge. Should the Terps win,
however, the advantage would certainly go to them on the
basis of a more recent win.

THE TERRAPINS WILL UNDOUBTEDLY give the
Wahoos a tougher time than they did in the teams' first
meeting, when the Cavaliers played perhaps their finest game of
the year in romping to an easy win. That game started the
Wahoos on their way into the top ten, and the Terrapins on
their way out of it. Since then, Maryland has come on strong
to compile a 20-4 record, identical to the Cavaliers. The Terps
have lost only to ACC opponents North Carolina. Duke, and
Clemson in that time. No one has beaten Coach Lefty
Driesell's team in Cole Field House, where capacity crowds of
obnoxious, screaming Turtles turn out week after week to
cheer on their heroes.

Mr. Driesell's young team has matured as the season has
progressed. After an early season lapse (he scored only four
points in the U-Hall game), Tom McMillen, the much-heralded
sophomore forward, has come on to be among the conference
leaders in almost every statistical category. The rest of the
squad seems to have jelled around McMillen.

IT IS CERTAIN THAT THE TERRAPINS have been
pointing for this game. Their poor performance against Wake
Forest Wednesday (they won in overtime) may indicate that
they were looking ahead. "Beat Virginia" is apparently the
slogan for the week in College Park, and reports from there say
the ticket demand is higher than for the earlier game with
Carolina. The expected crowd of 16,000 is larger by almost
2,000 than the supposed capacity of Cole Field House.
Everyone in what is called "Lefty's Barn" will be fired up
whether in the stands or on the floor. The conditions will
certainly be less than ideal for the visiting Wahoos.

The Cavaliers will be forced to play without the services of
Jim Hobgood, who was instrumental in the earlier win when
he led the team in rebounds. Hobgood has been hobbled for
the last two weeks by a foot injury, and will probably not play
in hopes of being healthy for the tournament. Much of the
Cavaliers hopes for success will lie in the ability of Hobgood's
replacement -either Bob McKeag, Bob McCurdy, or Lanny
Stahurski-to fill in.

BOTH TEAMS ARE PRIMED FOR THE GAME. The
Cavaliers have had a week's rest since playing in Chapel Hill,
and should be ready to go. The game is tremendously
important for the future hopes and pride of both teams. It
should be exciting from start to finish.