Virginia Tech made huge strides in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year and now holds the Ear of Corn in men's college basketball entering the 2016-17 season. But no team had a 2015-2016 with the prize like North Carolina. (This piece originally was published on EarofCornAwards.com on April 7, 2016.)
Under Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech improved from 2-16 in the ACC last year to 10-8 this year, ending with an upset of Miami during the regular season finale (Virginia Tech Sports information photo).
We began the season with Duke holding the Ear of Corn as the defending national champion in men's college basketball. We must start somewhere. So, as is the practice when initiating one of these prizes, we start it with the defending national champion. We don't count the championship bestowed as an earned championship, but we do give credit for title defenses.
So, the Blue Devils defended the Corn for only two games (easy wins against Sienna and Bryant) before the prize set onto a tour of the other college basketball capitals.
Last Nov. 17, Duke went to Chicago to face Kentucky in the first meeting of high profile teams for the Corn. Kentucky won, 74-63, then defended it consecutively against Wright State, Boston University, South Florida and Illinois State before coming to Pauley Pavilion for a meeting with UCLA.
Inexplicably, a UCLA team that would finish 15-17 and 10th in the Pac-12 beat the Wildcats, 87-77. The Bruins defended the prize three times, including a 71-66 win at Gonzaga.
But when North Carolina visited Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 19, the true direction for the Ear was set. The Tar Heels captured the Corn for the first time with an 89-76 win, then went back home for a couple wins against local schools before taking it into the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schedule.
The Tar Heels defended the Corn 10 times before a Feb. 1 trip to Louisville, which really wasn't playing for anything. Sidetracked by one of those sex scandals that crops up at Louisville, the Cardinals were going to self-sanction by disqualifying themselves from the tournament.
Here, though, they were playing for the Ear of Corn, and they pulled an upset, 71-65. After an easy (79-47) win at home against Boston College on Dec. 6, the Cardinals went to Duke on Feb. 8. And, there, the Blue Devils won the Ear outright for the first time, 72-65.
But Duke's first earned championship in this contest lasted barely longer than its earlier place-holder status. The Devils beat Virginia at home (63-62), then North Carolina on the road (74-73). And after those two hard-fought wins, the Dukies went to Louisville on Feb. 20.
This time, Louisville won, this time by a 71-64 score, becoming the first school to claim the Ear of Corn twice. The Cardinals defended their title for only one game, until they went to Miami on Feb. 27 and lost, 73-63.
The Hurricanes made one title defense, a 68-50 win at Notre Dame on March 2. On March 5, the Hurricanes went to Virginia Tech to finish the regular season for both teams. In other words, this would be the game to decide who would end the regular season with that version of the Ear.
It was no contest. Virginia Tech stomped the Hurricanes, 77-62, and, with that, secured the regular season Ear into the start of next season.
Nice finish for Virginia Tech, which made historic progress this year in the ACC. The Hokies jumped from 2-16 last year to 10-8 this year, the second season of Buzz Williams.
All together, though, North Carolina gets the nod here as Team of the Year. The Tar Heels won a title and defended theirs twice as long as anyone else, finishing 11-2 in games for the Ear of Corn.
But other teams were good, too. Duke was 5-2, including a title defense against North Carolina. Louisville was 4-2 with a title victories against Duke and North Carolina. UCLA was 4-1 with a title win against Kentucky, and Kentucky was 5-1 with a title victory over Duke.
Will any of those teams be the one to wrestle the Ear away from Virginia Tech? We'll find out next season.
We began the season with Duke holding the Ear of Corn as the defending national champion in men's college basketball. We must start somewhere. So, as is the practice when initiating one of these prizes, we start it with the defending national champion. We don't count the championship bestowed as an earned championship, but we do give credit for title defenses.
So, the Blue Devils defended the Corn for only two games (easy wins against Sienna and Bryant) before the prize set onto a tour of the other college basketball capitals.
Last Nov. 17, Duke went to Chicago to face Kentucky in the first meeting of high profile teams for the Corn. Kentucky won, 74-63, then defended it consecutively against Wright State, Boston University, South Florida and Illinois State before coming to Pauley Pavilion for a meeting with UCLA.
Inexplicably, a UCLA team that would finish 15-17 and 10th in the Pac-12 beat the Wildcats, 87-77. The Bruins defended the prize three times, including a 71-66 win at Gonzaga.
But when North Carolina visited Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 19, the true direction for the Ear was set. The Tar Heels captured the Corn for the first time with an 89-76 win, then went back home for a couple wins against local schools before taking it into the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schedule.
The Tar Heels defended the Corn 10 times before a Feb. 1 trip to Louisville, which really wasn't playing for anything. Sidetracked by one of those sex scandals that crops up at Louisville, the Cardinals were going to self-sanction by disqualifying themselves from the tournament.
Here, though, they were playing for the Ear of Corn, and they pulled an upset, 71-65. After an easy (79-47) win at home against Boston College on Dec. 6, the Cardinals went to Duke on Feb. 8. And, there, the Blue Devils won the Ear outright for the first time, 72-65.
But Duke's first earned championship in this contest lasted barely longer than its earlier place-holder status. The Devils beat Virginia at home (63-62), then North Carolina on the road (74-73). And after those two hard-fought wins, the Dukies went to Louisville on Feb. 20.
This time, Louisville won, this time by a 71-64 score, becoming the first school to claim the Ear of Corn twice. The Cardinals defended their title for only one game, until they went to Miami on Feb. 27 and lost, 73-63.
The Hurricanes made one title defense, a 68-50 win at Notre Dame on March 2. On March 5, the Hurricanes went to Virginia Tech to finish the regular season for both teams. In other words, this would be the game to decide who would end the regular season with that version of the Ear.
It was no contest. Virginia Tech stomped the Hurricanes, 77-62, and, with that, secured the regular season Ear into the start of next season.
Nice finish for Virginia Tech, which made historic progress this year in the ACC. The Hokies jumped from 2-16 last year to 10-8 this year, the second season of Buzz Williams.
All together, though, North Carolina gets the nod here as Team of the Year. The Tar Heels won a title and defended theirs twice as long as anyone else, finishing 11-2 in games for the Ear of Corn.
But other teams were good, too. Duke was 5-2, including a title defense against North Carolina. Louisville was 4-2 with a title victories against Duke and North Carolina. UCLA was 4-1 with a title win against Kentucky, and Kentucky was 5-1 with a title victory over Duke.
Will any of those teams be the one to wrestle the Ear away from Virginia Tech? We'll find out next season.
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