Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes rips Joe Lunardi of ESPN in defending the ACC
By Scott Roche
When it comes to the ACC and the men's NCAA Tournament, ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi doesn't like the conference's chances of getting many teams into the field of 68. Right now, North Carolina and Duke are locks and Clemson is just about in that category, if they are not already.
After that? Well, the outlook isn't good.
Virginia has been a team that has trended towards getting to the field, but a 75-41 loss Monday night at Virginia Tech along with a daunting remaining schedule puts the Cavaliers' hopes in danger. One team that is trending in the right direction is Wake Forest. Tuesday night, the Demon Deacons blasted Pittsburgh, 91-58, at home to improve to 17-8 and 9-6 in the ACC. They have a NET ranking of 24 and a KenPom ranking of 21, yet Lunardi doesn't have them in his field.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 21, 2024
Wednesday, Forbes appeared on ACC PM with with Mark Packer and Taylor Tannebaum and didn't hold back about Lunardi and his apparent disrespect for the ACC.
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes: "I don't know how Bracketology works. I stay in my lane. I leave it to the experts. Joel Lunardi at ESPN, he's an expert. He's carved out a great career doing it and so good for him.
— Les Johns (@Les_Johns) February 21, 2024
🧵
It didn't stop there.
"The problem that I have with Joe in regards to the ACC is he doesn't like to stay in his lane. He's criticized our league and our players in the past. He said that if we want more bids, then we got to do a better job recruiting.
— Les Johns (@Les_Johns) February 21, 2024
"We have the most drafted players in the history of the NBA from the ACC. And if we're talking about over the past five years since the NET, we're second only to the SEC in drafted players, and it's not even close."
— Les Johns (@Les_Johns) February 21, 2024
I think that Forbes speaks for most of the conference and all ACC fans. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports posted on X earlier this year that there was a real possibility that the conference would only get two teams, North Carolina and Duke. As you can imagine, that's didn't sit well with ACC fans either.
How many teams the ACC gets into the NCAA Tournament will be a topic until the field is announced on March 17. ACC teams Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina State are teams that have an opportunity, albeit very small, to work their way near the bubble with a strong finish to the regular season and a run through the ACC Tournament. Wake Forest has done more than enough to be in the field of 68, whether it's with Lunardi or the actual committee. He did, however, speak for the conference and their fans about the disrespect the conference gets and he's 100% correct.
feed