Happy New Year to all our readers! Wishing you joy, health, happiness, success, and plenty of great college basketball in the year to come.

In the first ACC basketball notebook of the new year, Saturday Road glances both backwards and forwards.

First, we’ll take a way-too-early peak at Bracketology, and evaluate who in the ACC is feeling good, or not so good, about their chances of playing in the NCAA Tournament as conference play heats up.

Second, we’ll glance backwards, handing out some awards for the players who shined the most during the 2022 portion of the 2022-23 season.

ACC a 5-bid league in latest ESPN Bracketology

First things first. I prefer Heat Check Bracketology, by Lukas Harkins, or Prime Time Bracketology, by Grant Hansell, 2 of the top bracketologists from an accuracy standpoint over the past 5 years, to Joe Lunardi, who is far less accurate of late. But Hansell and Harkins won’t release brackets for another month, so we get Lunardi for now.

Joey Brackets has 5 ACC teams in as of his latest bracket, released Jan. 3. They are as follows, in order of seed:

Virginia, 3 Seed, East Region: The Cavaliers are 10-2 and among only 5 teams in the country ranked in the top 20 in KenPom Adjusted Offensive and Defensive Efficiency. They have 3 Quad 1 wins and no bad losses, and should be well-situated to earn a high seed, and a game close to Charlottesville, during March.

Duke, 4 Seed, South Region: The Blue Devils being here, instead of shipped out west, is fascinating. Orlando, Fla., will host 1st- and 2nd-round games, and while that wouldn’t be the friendly Greenville, SC, locale of a season ago, it is a short flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Duke seems poised to rise even more over the next month, with résumé opportunities this month against Pitt, Miami and Virginia Tech. That, and the long-awaited emergence of Dariq Whitehead as a scorer, might make a No. 4 seed the floor for the Blue Devils.

Miami, 4 Seed, West Region: This seems low, considering the Hurricanes have lost just once, which came on a neutral floor to a solid Maryland team. Then again, the Canes have 2 Quad 1 victories (Providence, Virginia), which isn’t bad by any means but does leave room for work from a résumé standpoint. One thing I know about this type of seeding? I wouldn’t want to be the No. 1 seed in Miami’s bracket if the Hurricanes were a 4-seed. Miami is old and good, with a star guard, the most dangerous type of team during March.

North Carolina, 6 Seed, Midwest Region: The Tar Heels’ run last season came as a hot No. 8 seed. Why not repeat the feat as a 6-seed? Answer: Because this team is a year older and should be a year better. To be fair, the Tar Heels’ résumé actually is better this season than it was at this time a year ago. North Carolina has a Quad 1 win against Ohio State, and a pair of excellent Quad 2 victories over College of Charleston at home during November and Michigan at the Jumpman Invitational just prior to Christmas. The rub, of course, is this team started the season ranked No. 1, so it’s tough to explain to most observers that Hubert Davis’ team, at least from a season-to-season standpoint, is showing signs of improvement?

Virginia Tech, 8 Seed, East Region: The Hokies are a team we at Saturday Road are very high on, at least from a ceiling standpoint. At present, there is little tangible evidence we are right. To be sure, the Hokies are elite offensively, with a top 25 offense, per KenPom. What they lack are good wins, beyond their conference-opening upset of North Carolina. Mike Young’s team really needs Penn State, led by dynamic Wooden Award candidate Jalen Pickett, to keep winning. That victory could become vital on Selection Sunday, especially if the Hokies drop a few while they wait for sharpshooter Hunter Cattoor to heal.

Next Four Out: NC State. The Wolfpack has been miserable away from PNC Arena, which is why the 11-4 start Kevin Keatts and company have put together leaves it on the outside looking in at the field. The good news? The talent of Terquavion Smith and emerging sidekick Casey Morsell should keep this team around the bubble all winter.

Should be in, but Lunardi doesn’t even have them in the First or Next 4 Out: Wake Forest. With all due respect to Lunardi, leaving Wake Forest out of consideration entirely is absurd. The Demon Deacons have 3 Quad 1 wins, including a victory over Duke and a win at the Kohl Center over Wisconsin. Tyree Appleby (more below) is an ACC Player of the Year candidate, and if the Hokies, who have 1 decent win, are in, it’s fantastical to suggest Wake Forest is not.

Should be in, Part 2: Pittsburgh. If Selection Sunday were this weekend, how could you leave out the Panthers? Consider the résumé: 3 Quad 1 wins, including 2 on the road (Northwestern, NC State). 4 victories over the KenPom Top 100. Zero bad losses, unless you count a neutral-floor Feast Week loss to Virginia Commonwealth which came without John Hugley IV. Pitt hasn’t lost since Dec. 7. This is a good basketball team. A tournament team, at least right now.

Work to do: Clemson, Syracuse, Notre Dame. Each of these teams has NCAA Tournament talent, but the Tigers have an eyesore loss to South Carolina and Syracuse has multiple bad losses, dropping games at home to the likes of Bryant and Colgate. As for Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish have a great victory over Michigan State but little else to show for 2 months of hoops. Plenty of résumé opportunities remain, but all 3 programs need big wins in league play to get into the bubble conversation.

Sleeper: Florida State. Is this ridiculous? Perhaps. After all, FSU already has lost 11 games. But the committee will know the Seminoles lost 11 times thanks to 3 season-ending injuries and a 16-game suspension to 5-star talent Baba Miller, who will play this week. Leonard Hamilton’s guys could get hot and if they do, a 14- or even 15-loss FSU could get into the Big Dance.

Early-season ACC awards:

The best of the best from November and December….

Player of the Year: Isaiah Wong, Miami. 

The Hurricanes senior edges out the likes of Tyree Appleby (Wake Forest), Kyle Filipowski (Duke) and Justyn Mutts (Pittsburgh) to claim the mantle as the best player in the ACC during the 2022 portion of the 2022-23 slate. Isaiah Wong averages 17.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists, but it’s the way he has shot the ball that is exceptional. His field-goal (46%), 3-point (35.4%) and free-throw (83%) percentages all are tracking to be career-highs. He was dynamic during Miami’s unbeaten December, averaging almost 24 points per contest.

As his teammates Nijel Pack and Jordan Miller continue to contribute, Wong is getting less attention, and he’s feasting in the favorable situations Jim Larrañaga masterfully puts him in night after night.

Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Filipowski, Duke 

The Duke freshman is averaging almost a block per night and 1.3 steals per game, marvelous numbers that have anchored Jon Scheyer’s excellent defense. Armando Bacot (North Carolina) is absolutely in this discussion still, as is his teammate, Leaky Black, who ranks among the top 25 nationally in on-ball defense for the 3rd season in a row, per Hoops Lens. But Kyle Filipowski is the biggest difference maker from an “impact winning” standpoint right now, and he earns the early-season DPOY nod.

Newcomer of the Year: Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest

Tyree Appleby has been nothing short of a revelation for Steve Forbes’ Wake Forest club. The Florida transfer is averaging 18.4 points and 5.4 assists per game, and throwing in a career-best 1.6 steals per contest defensively as a bonus. Freed from the chains of Mike White’s dribble-drive offense, Appleby also is shooting a career-best 45% from deep.

Appleby is the main reason Wake Forest already has earned more Quad 1 wins than it had a season ago, and the Demon Deacons should be NCAA Tournament-bound thanks to his play and leadership come March.

Coach of the Year: Jeff Capel III, Pitt

The Panthers coach has gone from hot seat to NCAA Tournament hopeful within just 2 months. He has done it, for the most part, without the services of All-ACC big man John Hugley IV, the team’s best player when healthy. Credit Capel, who hit the portal for Blake Hinson, a mega-talent who couldn’t stay healthy at Ole Miss, and coaxed big-time production out of well-traveled guard Jamarius Burton, who finally appears comfortable at his 3rd big-time program (Wichita State and Texas Tech). Capel and Pitt have a long way to go, but if this holds, the embattled Panthers coach might win hardware this year instead of doing home-shopping come March and April.

All-ACC team, November/December edition:

The top players in the league in the 2022 portion of the 2022-23 campaign include some proven names and a handful of surprises, but they certainly speak to the improved depth of the ACC this season.

First Team

PG- Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest

Guard- Isaiah Wong, Miami

Guard- Sean Pedulla, Virginia Tech

Center- Armando Bacot, North Carolina

Center- Kyle Filipowski, Duke

Second Team

PG- Kihei Clark, Virgina

Guard- RJ Davis, North Carolina

Wing- Blake Hinson, Pittsburgh

Wing- Hunter Tyson, Clemson

Forward- Norchad Omier, Miami

The biggest things to note here? The big names who are absent as conference play ramps up. For example, no Caleb Love, Terquavion Smith, Justyn Mutts or Jeremy Roach. There’s also a dearth of big-time freshmen, though Dariq Whitehead appears to be coming on strong and Syracuse’s Judah Mintz is special. But seasons aren’t defined during November and December. Let the new year begin!