'Mocha Friday' for ACC

For those ACC fans not old enough to remember "Black Sunday," Wake Forest, Florida State and Boston College were kind enough to commemorate the 30th anniversary on Friday.

The ACC went 0-3 in the NCAA Tournament on "Mocha Friday" — not quite as dark as the twin losses by UNC and Duke on Black Sunday at Reynolds Coliseum in 1979, but a decaffeinated buzz-kill of a day for the conference nonetheless.

All three teams were the better-seeded team. Wake, the No. 4 in the Midwest Regional, got handled by 13th-seeded Cleveland State, 84-69.

Boston College, the seventh seed in the Midwest, also lost by double-digits, falling to No. 10 USC, 72-55.

Florida State, which just reached the ACC Tournament final for the first time, fell as the No. 5 seed in the East to 12th-seeded Wisconsin, 61-59 in overtime.

The most memorable "winless" opening day by the ACC happened in 1979, dubbed "Black Sunday." UNC, the No. 1 seed in the East, lost to ninth-seeded Penn, 72-71. Duke, the No. 2 seed in the East, lost to St. John's 80-78.

It's only the second time the ACC has had four teams (plus Clemson on Thursday) lose in the first round. Four of the six conference teams in the field lost in the first round in 1987. The ACC finished 5-6 that year, the only time it has had a losing record in the tournament since the NCAA allowed more than two teams per conference in the field in 1980.

With UNC, Duke and Maryland still alive, it's unlikely the ACC will finish the tournament with a losing record, but the league needs a big day, namely a Maryland upset of Memphis, to offset Friday's nightmare.

At 3-4, the ACC trails the Big East (6-1), Big 12 (6-0), Big Ten (4-3), Pac-10 (5-1). The only conference the ACC did better than in the first round was the SEC (1-2). -- J.P. Giglio