The ACC Tournament Schedule for 2011 was made official late Sunday night, with North Carolina earning the No. 1 seed. As one of the top four seeds, they'll get a first-round bye (along with Duke, Florida St. and Clemson). Boston College, the No. 5 seed (the Eagles lost a tiebreaker to the Tigers), opens play Thursday, Mar. 10, against No. 12 Wake Forest -- the same team they just beat on Sunday, 84-68.
Many have the Eagles on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament -- SB Nation's Bracketology expert, Chris Dobbertean, has BC as one of the Next Four In currently -- but the guys at BC Interruption recognize that many see Friday's potential Boston College-Clemson second round matchup will be the Eagles' play-in game. So does BC need one win, or two?
... BC should certainly get chosen over Virginia Tech after having beaten them twice this season and Virginia Tech finishing the season with two losses going into the ACC Tournament. Clemson, however, might be able to say the same in comparison to BC after Friday. If Clemson beats BC, they'll be able to point to two victories over the Eagles when fighting for one of those final at-large bids into the tournament. [...]
Losing to Clemson will not mean certain elimination for the Eagles, but it could be real tough for them to get in. If they lose a close game, their chances improve. If they lose in blowout fashion, NIT it is.
The strange thing is that with two wins in the ACC Tournament, I don't think BC is even on the bubble come Sunday. With a victory over Clemson and a game against UNC on Saturday, the Eagles are safely in the dance. BC controls its own destiny right now as much as a bubble team possibly can without winning their conference tournament.
The Eagles' road to the NCAA Tournament begins Thursday, at 2 p.m. EST.