Live from Greensboro...

The curiosity factor was high for the opening of the 53rd ACC Tournament. In the post-expansion era, with a new format that includes four games on Thursday, how many fans would show up? And when?

Well before tipoff of the Clemson-Miami opener, which started at noon, the coaches and teams were on the court in Greensboro Coliseum. The three game officials were there, as were the TV and radio announcers. Commissioner John Swofford was on hand, and director of basketball officials John Clougherty took a seat -- a hot seat? -- along press row. Overall, the court-side media section was only about half-full.

I managed to slip into my seat (on the baseline) in time for the tip, despite an unscheduled morning trip to the doctor in Raleigh with my three-year-old daughter. She'll be OK. Hopefully, I will be, too. I wondered how many coaches, players or officials had personal emergencies this morning, and how it might affect their performance.

The fans? The early estimate, right at noon, was about 8,000 people in the 23,745-seat coliseum. That was a bit disappointing, because one thing that separates the ACC Tournament from all other conference tournaments is the fans. They always show up in force, and most stay for the entire weekend, even if their favorite team loses early. Those who do leave after a day or two sell their remaining tickets, sometimes for a nice profit, so the seats always are filled.

By the end of Miami's win over Clemson, there may have been 15,000 people in the stands. That was a much better showing. By the beginning of the matchup between Florida State and Wake Forest, the "guestimate" was closer to 20,000. That wasn't bad, especially for a Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m., with lots of people still at work and only one of the league's four North Carolina-based teams in action today.

Corporate America is well-represented, too. There's not a lot of signage right around the court itself -- that's mostly ACC-type messages, the various school logos, and a big Raycom-Jefferson Pilot (TV network) banner -- but the "scrolling ads" you'll see on your TV sets will be prominent in any mid-court camera shots.

That important spot, along with an electronic ring high above the court, is reserved for the league's main corporate partners: Pepsi, Food Lion, Progress Energy, Geico, Aquafina, Chick-Fil-A, RBC Centura, Chrysler/Jeep, etc.

Another advertising ring around the arena showcases other sponsors: American Express, Domino's Pizza, Wachovia, Smirnoff, Beefmaster Franks, etc. Oddly -- at least it struck me as odd -- the same space rotates into generic school/conference information at times during timeouts and free throws.

Of course, anyone who knows me understands that no in-person update would be complete without a review of the various schools' cheerleaders and dance teams, which are always a popular topic among fans located near court-side. Apparently, the rules allow a total of only 12 individuals per school, plus the mascot.

Kudos to Miami and Florida State (the early leaders) for abandoning the cheerleader idea and going with a 12-person (all female) dance team. (The dance team-cheerleader debate is a very personal matter, and there is no "official" right or wrong answer. Personally, I'm a dance-team guy, and I make no apologies for that.) Clemson had three male cheerleaders, three female cheerleaders and a six-person dance team. Wake Forest had four male cheerleaders, four female cheerleaders and a four-person dance team. Virginia had 12 cheerleaders, all female. Virginia Tech had all cheerleaders, six women and six men.

More on the actual basketball (9 p.m. update)...

Miami 66, Clemson 63
Wake Forest 78, Florida State 66
Virginia 60, Virginia Tech 56

Miami guards Guillermo Diaz and Robert Hite both made the All-ACC team this year, and deservedly so, but nobody else on the Hurricanes wants the ball on offense. That's going to prove to be a major problem before this weekend is over....

When Duke and Miami battle tomorrow, two of the most explosive wing guards in the nation will be facing each other. Diaz and J.J. Redick have many differences -- Diaz has better athleticism, Redick the better work ethic and basketball IQ -- but perhaps the biggest difference is their shooting form. Redick almost always launches his shots with the same (perfect) technique, while going straight up, etc. From one moment to the next, Diaz changes his vertical leap, his left-to-right movement (even on some free throws!) and his ball rotation. That's not good....

It makes sense that Clougherty wants and needs to work "new blood" into the officiating rotation at the ACC Tournament. (The young guys have to grow up at some point, right?) In each of the two early games, there were men with whistles that most ACC fans couldn't have picked out of a lineup. Tim Nestor did the first game with veterans Bryan Kersey and Mike Wood. Sean Hull did the second with familiar faces Jamie Luckie and Les Jones. Roger Ayers did the third with old-timers Duke Edsall and Larry Rose....

There has been very good sportsmanship throughout the day, even after hard fouls. Early on, Diaz patted the shoulder of a Clemson player apologetically, moments after throwing him to the ground. Later, Clemson's Sam Perry helped a prone Diaz off the floor after he was hammered on a layup attempt....

His team didn't win, but Clemson center Akin Akingbala is one of the most improved players in the conference. A senior, he now catches the ball in the post with confidence, does NOT need (unlike so many big men) an extra moment or two to gather himself, turns quickly to avoid a double-team, and calmly uses the glass to score. That's pretty impressive stuff, because I've lost count of the ACC big men who can't do that, even as juniors and seniors.

One thing that's typically hard to see on TV is the trash talk between players, especially if there's a second or two of "down time" after made baskets. In the second game, Wake's Michael Drum gave FSU's Isaiah Swann an earful after hitting back-to-back three-pointers, likely as a response to Swann's yapping for much of the first half. Throughout their exchanges, both players were mostly smiling, indicating it was good-natured stuff rather than bad blood....

As a relatively young guy -- hey, I'm still in my 30s! -- I thoroughly enjoy ACC Tournament weekend in part because I get to soak up the wisdom of many of the conference's top veteran sportswriters, many of whom have been incredibly gracious toward me throughout my career. During the Miami game, I was next to Raleigh News & Observer legend Caulton Tudor for a while. (I still call him "Mr. Tudor" out of habit and respect, but he tells me to call him "Toods," as everyone else does.) Anyway, with Miami trailing by 11, "Toods" leaned over to me and said there was no way the Hurricanes would win the game if they stayed in the zone defense that has become a trademark of UM coach Frank Haith. The Hurricanes finally abandoned the zone, and -- voila! -- they mounted a comeback just when it looked as if they were finished, and they won the game. Wisdom, indeed.

There were significant pockets of support for each team on day one, but nothing came close to the sound of the coliseum as Wake Forest put together its comeback victory. Many of those cheering were wearing the Demon Deacons' colors, and after all Wake (located in nearby Winston-Salem) is as close to a home team as there is this year, but many neutral observers seemed to adopt the Deacs as well. Perhaps there's some in-state camaraderie there, with Duke, UNC and NCSU fans lending their support, but being a No. 12 seed doesn't hurt, either. Everybody loves an underdog.

The Virginia-Virginia Tech team reminded me of one of the golden rules of the postseason: If you have a weak link, the opponent will find it. In fact, it's often more important to have five reliable guys on the court -- or seven or eight in your rotation -- than it is to have two or three stars.

Virginia Tech has more "star power" than Virginia, with junior guards Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon and experienced big man Coleman Collins for the Hokies, and "only" the star backcourt of Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds for the Cavaliers. But UVa won this game, as it did twice in this matchup during the regular season, because its role players were far more productive than their counterparts.

Energetic freshman center Laurynas Mikalauskas, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, came up with lots of loose balls and clutch boards. Junior forward Jason Cain offered his typical combination of man-to-man defense, help defense and strong (seven) board work. Forward Adrian Joseph chipped in with 10 points. Along with Singletary and Reynolds, that UVa quintet was more than enough for the Hokies.

Meanwhile, with Collins having an off night, the thin Tech bench couldn't pick up the slack. Shawn Harris (season average -- 1.7 ppg) came out of nowhere to score 12 points in 12 minutes, but starters Deron Washington and Markus Sailes were complete non-factors offensively. The Hokies simply relied too much -- again -- on Gordon and Dowdell, and that's why they're going home early. Two scorers just isn't enough in this league.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, I think Wake Forest has a good chance against N.C. State, but I'll be surprised if Miami or Virginia can truly scare Duke or North Carolina. Neither underdog has enough weapons to make defending them a complicated task, and good coaches (e.g., Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams) will tailor their schemes around that fact. It will take a stunning individual effort by one or more star players (Diaz, Hite, Singletary, Reynolds) to make things interesting.

I originally wanted to post again after the Maryland-Georgia Tech game, but then again it's been a very long day, and some cold beverages await back at the hospitality room at the media hotel.

Gotta keep those priorities in order, right?

See you tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed the games and the blog.