Conference Call: Feb. 2

Highlights from the weekly ACC conference call:

• Seth Greenberg on the Hokies' plight against N.C. State
• Coach K on the strength of the ACC
• Dino Gaudio on the timing of the schedule

Seth Greenberg has an explanation for Virginia Tech's six-game losing streak to N.C. State.

'It's that damn red jacket," the Hokies coach joked, referring to N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe's signature red blazer.

The Hokies are 1-6 against the Wolfpack since joining the ACC, winning their first game in 2004-05 at Blacksburg, where the two will meet on Sunday, but not since.

It's not like Virginia Tech has been a bad team since joining the conference. The Hokies have the third-most conference wins since expansion, behind UNC and Duke.

N.C. State is 11-28 in regualr-season conference play under Lowe, plus three wins in the 2007 ACC Tournament. Of his 14 ACC wins, four have been against Virginia Tech.

"They have good players," Greenberg said. "They have good spacing and they're efficient on offense."

Greenberg hopes this team, 4-3 in the ACC, can break the losing streak in their only meeting of the season.

"What comes around, goes around," Greenberg said. "We won four in a row against BC and lost there the other day, so ..."

Despite last-minute losses to Clemson and Boston College last week, Greenberg feels good about where his team is as it prepares to make the turn to the second half of the ACC season.

"We have a chance to be 5-3 in the first half of the league, if somebody offered me that before the season, I'd take it," he said.

Coach K on the strength of the ACC

Duke, UNC and Wake Forest figure to remain in the top 10 when the AP Top 25 is released this afternoon.

But Georgia Tech, previously winless in the ACC, with its win over Wake Forest on Saturday and the quality of the second tier of the conference — Florida State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Miami, Boston College — has impressed Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

"It's the strongest it has been for about four or five years," Coach K said "There really is not an easy win, especially on an opponent's home court."

The ACC lost only one underclassman to the NBA last summer, one big reason Coach K sees league-wide improvement.

"I felt going into this year the league would be really good because we have a lot of veterans in this league," he said.

Dino Gaudio on the timing of the schedule

Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio didn't think Saturday's loss to previously winless Georgia Tech was because of a letdown by his players after the Deacs' big win over Duke.

I really don't think that had anything to do with it," Gaudio said. "I think that was the case last year [when Wake lost four straight after beating Duke].

"I just think the league is so good. We played hard, they played hard and they just beat us at the end."

The timing of the schedule, and the days in between games, Gaudio said, was more of a factor than emotion. Gaudio pointed out that Wake had a week to prepare for Duke but two days to prep for Tech.

The Jackets conversely had a six-day break before Wake got to Atlanta.

"We all complain with those quick turnarounds," Gaudio said. "Turnarounds are important. It worked in our favor [before Duke], six days off like we had, and someone else has two, it's an advantage."