Hewitt, Jackets sitting on a bubble

Landing heralded freshman Derrick Favors has strengthened Paul Hewitt's job security. The Georgia Tech coach also has a sizeable buyout.

But if the Yellow Jackets fail again to make the NCAA Tournament, Hewitt will likely face heavy criticism.

Hewitt has not produced a winning record in ACC play since 2004, and the Yellow Jackets have missed the NCAAs in three of the last four seasons.

Losers of back-to-back games, Georgia Tech has fallen to eighth place in the ACC (5-6) despite possessing one of the most talented frontcourts in the conference.

The Yellow Jackets are a No. 9 seed in ESPN's latest bracket projection, and need a strong week against North Carolina and at Maryland to keep themselves, and Hewitt, off the bubble.

Thumbs up

Clemson's outside shooting

The Tigers entered the week shooting 25 percent from 3 in conference play. Clemson reversed its fortune by connecting on eight 3s against Florida State and hit nine against Miami. It's no coincidence that the Tigers also won both games. If Clemson can continue to shoot like that, the Tigers should make a third straight NCAA appearance.

.500

Over the last three years, an ACC record of 8-8 is generally the line separating NCAA Tournament berths from bubbles burst. ACC teams finishing at or above the line usually make it — those finishing below have not (with Maryland last year as an exception). Some speculate finishing 8-8 might not be good enough this season as the ACC is perceived to be down, but the conference still ranks third in RPI.

Duke

Four straight wins have given the No. 6 Blue Devils a one-game lead over Wake in the ACC. Duke might not have the athletes or depth to make a deep NCAA Tournament run — Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler are combining for 53.2 of Duke's 80.5 points per game — but the Blue Devils look like the class of the ACC.

Thumbs down

North Carolina

Things keep getting worse for UNC coach Roy Williams. Not only are the Tar Heels a game and a half from the ACC cellar (3-7), but they also lost Ed Davis to a wrist injury for six weeks. Williams came under fire for clumsily relating the Haiti catastrophe to his own team's woes. Williams said his comments were misrepresented. He said Monday it's been his 'most difficult year as a head coach.'

Coach K to the Nets? Nyet.

Mike Krzyzewski broke Nets fans' hearts by dismissing rumors he had been contacted by New Jersey. You could understand why New Jersey would be interested in Krzyzewski, though. In addition to being a big-name coach, the Nets are hoping to lure Cleveland star LeBron James this summer, and James played under Krzyzewski for Team USA.

'The (Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov) guy is Russian. You think he'd hire a Polish guy?' Krzyzewski said jokingly. 'No one has contacted me. If they do, saying ‘Nyet' would be easy.'

UVa.'s third scoring option

Virginia coach Tony Bennett is seeking a third scorer after Sylven Landesberg and Mike Scott, who were the only Cavs to reach double figures in a loss to Virginia Tech.

Virginia (14-8, 5-4 ACC) has lost two straight games.

He said it

'Inaccurate information is flowing like crazy in the sports world because there are so many different streams: a blog, Twitter, you don't have to be accountable for information therefore information doesn't have to be accurate. ... Sometimes you have to refute (inaccurate reports) and it appears you have done something. ... It's a (heck) of a way to live,' — Krzyzewski on rumors the Nets had contacted him.

By the numbers

1,000 — Number of games Krzyzewski has coached at Duke. He reached the mark Saturday against Maryland, which also marked his 63rd birthday.

854 — Career wins for Krzyzewski. Krzyzewski is closing in on Bob Knight's career record for Division I coaching wins (902).

190 —Number of weeks Duke has been ranked No. 1 during the Krzyzewski Era.

Trav's take

Hewitt likes the arrangement Major League Baseball has with college baseball. A player can jump from high school to pro baseball, but if a prospect goes to college, he's with the program for at least three seasons (with some age exceptions). If college basketball had a similar arrangement it would make for a better game, and high school stars who have no interest in waiting a year to jump to the NBA wouldn't be restricted. Of course, such a rule would benefit Hewitt, who would get to keep Derrick Favors around for two more seasons.

Why are many coaches in favor of expanding the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams? Because it's a lot easier for coaches to keep their jobs when earning NCAA invitations, and coaches presiding over bubble teams, like Hewitt, are peppered with questions about their NCAA chances in January.

How would you like to be the coach following Krzyz-ewski at Duke? No pressure.