
DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 1997             TAG: 9703120662

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  162 lines

ACC: IS PAST PROLOGUE? SINCE '85, LEAGUE TEAMS HAVE THE MOST NCAA WINS, MOST FINAL FOUR TRIPS AND MOST TITLES.

If history teaches us anything, it is that ACC teams will have a major impact in the NCAA tournament, and chances are good that one of them will make it to the Final Four.

Look at the record book.

Since the NCAA tournament field was enlarged to 64 teams in 1985, ACC teams have collected:

1. The most NCAA tournament wins (131); 2. Most wins against No. 1 seeds (12); 3. Most Sweet 16 appearances (38); 4. Most regional final appearances (21); Most Final Four appearances (11), and 5. Most NCAA titles (3).

The league has been represented in 13 of the last 16 Final Fours and its teams have won three of the last six titles. A run of eight consecutive years of having at least one team in the Final Four ended last season, but the league seems poised to resume its dominance with six teams in this year's tournament.

Four teams were ranked in the Top 10 on three occasions during the season and five finished in the Top 25.

The last time the league was so heavily represented in the final AP poll was 1993, when its teams won 14 of 19 NCAA tournament games and North Carolina defeated Michigan, 77-71, for the championship.

Here is a look at the ACC teams and their chances:

NORTH CAROLINA: All three of the Tar Heels' NCAA championship teams (1956, 1982, 1993) have advanced through the East Region, and it may be the easiest of the four regions this season.

The Heels' toughest game could be their second. If they defeat Fairfield Thursday, they play the Colorado-Indiana winner on Saturday. The Heels defeated No. 2 seed South Carolina, 86-75, in December.

UNC has won 12 straight games and lost only once all season to a nonconference opponent, Arizona, in the season-opener last November.

After an 0-3 league start, the Heels began to perk when Vince Carter recovered from a hip injury and freshman point guard Ed Cota took control of the offense.

The Heels have splendid offensive balance and the strongest rebounding game in the region and, unlike other ACC teams, come into the tournament with no negatives.

Prediction: Final Four-bound.

DUKE: Nobody does a better job of preparing a team for NCAA tournament play than Mike Krzyzewski, whose Blue Devils won back-to-back titles in 1991-'92.

Picked to finish fourth in preseason, the Blue Devils finished first during the regular season and were the league's most stable team until losing three of its last four games - including its ACC tournament opener to North Carolina State. The biggest problem has been a breakdown in the transition game and an over-reliance on 3-point shooting.

With 6-foot-8 Roshown McLeod the tallest starter, Duke is dependent on strong perimeter play and pressure defense. If the Blue Devils' offense is popping, they could find themselves challenging everyone's Final Four favorite, Kansas, in the Southeast championship game.

Prediction: Duke will beat Kansas if both make it to the regional championship game.

WAKE FOREST: With All-American Tim Duncan, the Deacons were the ACC's top-ranking team and a popular choice to reach the Final Four until losing four of their last seven.

Coach Dave Odom gets some of the blame for playing a soft early schedule and not realizing some glaring flaws in his team until getting into conference games.

The biggest problem is on the perimeter, where Odom is not getting the aggressive, penetrating play he wants from point guard Tony Rutland. It does not help that the Deacons were dropped to a No. 3 seed, which surprised Odom, and landed in the toughest region, along with Utah and Kentucky.

Prediction: Deacons go only as far as Tim Duncan can take them, and that's to the regional championship game against Kentucky.

CLEMSON: The Tigers may have peaked too early. They hit the wall in back-to-back losses to Wake Forest and North Carolina after climbing to No. 2 in the rankings on Jan. 20. They enter the tournament having lost five of their last seven, and opening-round opponent Miami of Ohio is a tough matchup.

Still, the Tigers defeated Kentucky, South Carolina, and Duke, and could be trouble if they get it going again.

Prediction: Tigers lose in first round.

MARYLAND: The Terps were the biggest surprise in the regular season after being picked to finish eighth in the league. They wound up tied for fourth with Clemson, and at one point had been ranked 5th in the AP poll before sliding during a tiring second-half of the season.

The Terps are at their best when LaRon Profit is hitting his shots to take pressure off All-ACC forward Keith Booth, and when center Obinna Ekezie stays out of foul trouble.

The Terps didn't get a break in being matched against 12-seed College of Charleston in the opening game, though.

Prediction: Terps go home early.

VIRGINIA: The Cavaliers play well with a chip on their shoulder and left-out Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim gave them a cause by wondering if the Cavs deserved to go to the tournament.

The Cavs clinched a bid by winning three of their last five games despite guard Harold Deane nursing a leg injury.

Eight of their 12 losses were to teams ranked in the top nine of the RPI.

Prediction: Cavs' tough defense gets them by Iowa in first round, but nothing short of a miracle gets them by Kentucky in the next game. ILLUSTRATION: [Chart]

ACC TEAMS AT A GLANCE

NORTH CAROLINA

Record: 24-6, 11-5 ACC

Region: No. 1 seed in East

Where: Winston-Salem, N.C.

When: Thursday, 7:40 p.m.

Opponent: No. 16 seed Fairfield (11-18)

Coach Dean Smith in the NCAA: 61-26

Last Final Four: 1995

DUKE

Record: 23-8, 12-4 ACC

Region: No. 2 seed, Southeast