If you want an example of what March Madness is all about, look no further than the ACC tournament.
Right after the N.C. State Wolfpack upset the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons took out the Miami Hurricanes to make even more conference history, as described by RAJohnston of SB Nation's Blogger So Dear.
Video recap of the 2012 ACC Tournament Quarterfinals (via TheACC.com)
Before Friday, teams seeking major upsets (a difference of five or more places in seeding) stood at 4-73 in the ACC Tournament. On Friday State and Wake both won to go 2-0 in that category.
The Deacs are the third No. 7 seed to make the ACC semi-finals. N.C. State (No. 9) is the highest seed to ever make the ACC Tournament semis.
With those two upsets the semifinals are as follows:
- #4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. #9 NC State (11 a.m. EDT on ESPNU/ESPN3.com)
- #3 Maryland Terrapins vs #7 Wake Forest (1:30 p.m. EDT on ESPNU/ESPN3.com)
So which team seems to have the better chance of making more history by advancing to the ACC Tournament Championship Game?
Wake Forest would seem to have the bigger obstacle to overcome in the semifinals: Maryland has already beaten them by 28 this season, albeit in College Park. NC State, on the other hand, lost at Georgia Tech in overtime by only 10 points. Perhaps adding to their hope by revisiting past pain is that the Yellow Jackets also had their worst rebounding game of the season. In other words, this has to be seen as a winnable game for NC State on a neutral court with a little bit of momentum going.
Click here for the complete bracket an schedule for today the forthcoming games in the tournament.