College Basketball Week 17: 5 biggest takeaways

By Chris Stone | Mar 6, 2017

Mar 2, 2017; Madison, WI, USA; The Wisconsin Badgers team waits as officials determine a call that finalized a flagrant one foul against Iowa Hawkeyes guard Peter Jok (14) at the Kohl Center. Iowa defeated Wisconsin 69-67. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /

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Here’s your weekly dive into what we took away from the last seven days of college hoops.

It’s officially March, which means plenty of college basketball and a whole lot of discussions surrounding the NCAA Tournament bubble or seeding for the teams that have played their way off of it. This week, we’ll focus on what some of the bubble’s most hotly contested schools did over the last week plus whether or not a few schools can improve their seeding with deep runs in their conference tournaments.

Since it’s such a special occasion, the takeaways are six deep this week with a look at one team from each of the top six leagues in the country starting with the ACC and Wake Forest.

Mar 4, 2017; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Bryant Crawford (13), guard Keyshawn Woods (1), and forward Konstantinos Mitoglou (44) react from the bench during the second half against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports /

ACC: Can Wake Forest solidify its resume in Brooklyn?

No team on the bubble had a better week than Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons knocked off Louisville at home before beating Virginia Tech on the road, giving themselves a trio of RPI top 50 wins after starting the week with just one. Those two victories have pushed the team onto the right side of the bubble, but with potential bid stealers still alive, it would behoove the Deacs to pick up a significant win or two at next week’s ACC tournament.

That process starts with beating Boston College in the opening round, but if Wake Forest can take care of business there, it will face the Hokies once again ahead of a potential matchup with Florida State in the quarterfinals.

Assuming the Demon Deacons do make the tournament, they’ll be an interesting team to watch as a potential spoiler. Bryant Crawford and John Collins are both NBA-level talents with the potential to do serious damage in March. As a team, Wake Forest ranks in the top 30 nationally in adjusted efficiency margin, per KenPom, and have one of the country’s top offenses. That could be enough for the Demon Deacons to make a surprise push to their first second weekend since Chris Paul suited up for them in 2004.