With Texas electing to remain in the Big 12 conference, the domino effect that was expected to occur looks like it will not happen. That means the ACC is safe with its current 12 teams despite persistent rumors that the conference could be raided and lose some of its schools.

The thought process was that the domino effect could cause the Big 10 and SEC to both look to bring in ACC schools into their respective conferences.

You can never say never, but it looks like the ACC will stay solid with the current 12 teams for at least the forseeable future.

The 2010 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament ended up with a familiar scene: The Duke Blue Devils celebrating another conference championship.

For the ninth time in 12 years, and for the 18th time overall, Duke captured the conference crown, avoiding the pitfalls of an upset-riddled bracket to ground down Georgia Tech in the title game at Greensboro Coliseum, 65-61.

Duke entered the tournament as the top seed and was one of four teams with an opening-round bye. In the quarterfinals, the Blue Devils knocked off No. 9 Virginia, 57-46. In the semifinals, No. 12 seed Miami – a huge surprise – pushed Duke to the limit before the Blue Devils squeaked by, 77-74.

In the title game, No. 7 seed Georgia Tech awaited, playing its fourth game in as many days. But Duke simply had too much for the Jackets in the final minutes, winning the conference and earning a No. 1 seed into the NCAA Tournament.

From there, Duke wouldn’t be stopped. The Blue Devils won six games in a row and on April 5 celebrated winning the national championship.

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