Did UCLA, Big Ten Kill the ACC in Basketball?

ACC basketball. An institution. The type of basketball conference that magazines are made to illustrate. A fierce coastal hatred, stemming from court to court. Duke and North Carolina, Tobacco Road. The Carolina heat cooked up several intense rivalries.

The ACC took Syracuse from the once mighty Big East. Miami and Larrañaga would make trouble, and so would Hamilton and Florida State. Maryland would compete for national championships, winning one in 2002.

The conference had big-time, recognizable coaches. Smith, Krzyzewski, Williams, Ellis, Bennett, Valvano.

They had big-time players. Jordan, Worthy, Laettner.

But now? The NCAA has reached its second round and for some parts, the Sweet 16. The only team to make it out of the first round representing the ACC? Their regular-season and tournament winner, the Duke Blue Devils. That's it.

Only four teams from the conference made the tournament this year. Duke, Clemson, Louisville, and North Carolina (under very questionable circumstances).

In comparison to the ACC, the Big Ten sent eight (including UCLA) and could have sent Indiana if North Carolina hadn't received help.

The ACC may be dead and it's the result of conference alignment, partially triggered by UCLA. Plus, NIL and the portal.

Larrañaga retired mid-season, Bennett retired right before his. Hamilton is out, Boeheim has been gone. Coach K called it quits, Roy Williams already did. Former ACC member Maryland is in the second round as a member of the Big Ten. The ACC is dead.

UCLA and Oregon made it in, while the ACC's West Coast acquisitions, Cal and Stanford, didn't even come close.

The ACC in basketball is Duke and everybody else. Whenever there is a singular top dog like that, other conferences come calling, and I'm not saying Duke would leave the ACC for the SEC or Big Ten, but I do think they would listen to the offers.

The ACC, as much as we said they're dead, are still very much alive. However, the conference is on life support. They need to get North Carolina back to being a national force and they must develop more programs. Four teams is the hallmark of a failing conference.

The time for action is now or they'll end up like the Pac-12.

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