A few weeks ago, I said that the ACC deserves more credit.

True, it's not the Big East and doesn't have the depth among its top 10 teams. But just look at what happened to Wake Forest and Duke last night on the road.

The Demon Deacons continued their recent free-fall from the top in losing their third game in the last couple weeks - a 27-point pasting in Miami. There's no shame in Coach K's team losing at Clemson; the embarrassment is the final margin of victory by the Tigers.

It was also 27 points.

I'm not looking at it as Duke and Wake aren't capable of making a Final Four run. It's just that they aren't all that different from everyone else.

The margin of error is minimal.

Remember, Michigan State has lost a pair of home games to traditional bottom-feeders in the Big Ten. Texas has dropped two straight in Austin to Kansas State and Missouri.

Gonzaga lost to Utah and Portland State earlier in the year.

There's no need to panic. Especially if you're a Duke or Wake fan.

This league, while maybe not on par with the Big Beast, is still a close second.

Other than maybe Virginia, there's not a team in the ACC that you know you're going to beat - even if you don't play your best.

The same can't be said for the Big East - where the bottom-tier teams such as DePaul, Rutgers and South Florida seem to be fairly inept these days.

Let's not write off Wake Forest and Duke as legitimate Final Four contenders. The Deacs are still young and need to learn how to deal with adversity. The Blue Devils just, well, aren't the high-powered Duke teams of the past.

In this season of parity and the lack of a true powerhouse, they still may have enough to get to Detroit.

'NOVA VOID OF NBA GUYS

Villanova'a Jay Wright respectfully disagreed (he said they have one), but I'm not sure the Wildcats have an NBA player on their team.

Yet 'Nova sits in the Top 20 and fifth in the nation's elite league.

Wright loves this year's team - even though they aren't loaded with pros like so many other groups around the country that occupy a spot in the national rankings.

``We know we have to play harder than everyone we go up against," admitted underrated senior big man Dante Cunningham.

``It's an old-school team," Wright added. "We've got three seniors and two juniors."

And the young kids have finally accepted their roles.

A year ago, the Corey's - Fisher and Stokes - came in as over-hyped freshmen who figured they'd walk into a starting role.

It didn't happen.

``Last year was hard for them," Cunningham said. "They came in with all those accolades, but this year they really have accepted their roles."

Fisher and Stokes give the Wildcats nearly 20 points off the bench per night, but it's a group of upperclassmen - seniors Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson along with juniors Scottie Reynolds and Reggie Redding - that have been given Wright the stability.

Villanova still sits behind Marquette, UConn, Louisville and Pittsburgh in the Big East, but the Wildcats only have one game against the top four teams in the league remaining - at home against Marquette on Tuesday.

LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS 10 FINALISTS

Here are the 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award - which goes to the elite senior student-athletes.

Jerel McNeal (Marquette), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), Terrence Williams (Louisville), Jimmy Baron (Rhode Island), Sam Young (Pittsburgh), A.J. Abrams (Texas), Dionte Christmas (Temple), Curtis Jerrells (Baylor), Lester Hudson (Tennessee Martin) and Andy Wicke (Belmont).

RANDOM NOTES: New Mexico State men's basketball freshman guard Terrance Joyner has been suspended indefinitely pending an investigation of a violation of team rules.  No further comment will be given until more information has been gathered and evaluated.