Voepel breaks down the three-headed monster

The three-headed monster of Maryland, North Carolina and Duke will be a tough one for their Atlantic Coast Conference opponents to slay.
But ESPN.com basketball writer Mechelle Voepel thinks it is possible for somebody like a Virginia or Florida State to take one of the heads down at some point in the 2006-2007 season.
"There's a chance somebody might upset one of them - I think that can always happen. Particularly those two teams that you mention - because both of those teams are athletic, and both are well-coached," Voepel told "ACC Nation" last week.
"I don't think that there's any chance that anybody but one of those three wins the ACC, though. There's always a chance, especially on the road, that you could get knocked off - but it's going to be one of those three," Voepel said.
Maryland has fought off two upset bids already this season - holding off Middle Tennessee State in their opener by an 80-76 count and then beating back a game Temple Owls team last weekend in Philadelphia by a 77-66 final.
"That first game was the type of game that a team like Maryland is going to get from now on," Voepel said. "It's the type of game that a Tennessee or a UConn gets. Middle Tennessee has improved their program. They had 10,000 people there. It was probably the biggest game that they've ever played. And Maryland stood up to that challenge - and I think has been very solid since then."
Carolina has also faced a tough challenge - a Dec. 3 home date with Tennessee that it won by 70-57 despite sloppy play (43 fouls, 49 turnovers) on the part of both teams.
"I have to tell you - I don't much care for watching Carolina play," Voepel said. "And I say that not in a way to criticize them - but I don't think they're a team that is that much fun to watch play when they play a game like that. It is very sloppy. That game I didn't think was fun at all to watch. I kind of prefer a team that is a little more disciplined on offense - but by the same token, the strategy that Carolina takes has worked for them, so you have to respect that."
Duke has that kind of discipline - and maybe has the best team that it has been able to put on the court in recent years in spite of the loss of All-Everything forward Monique Currie.
"I always loved Mo Currie as a player - but at times she would either disappear in moments when she was most needed, or she wouldn't necessarily be the most disciplined player," Voepel said.
"I think that the team they have right now is very disciplined - but also up-tempo. They've got so many weapons - and if they get Chante Black back, especially, you're talking about them having as good a frontcourt as any team in the country. And that's saying a lot," Voepel said.
- Chris Graham