Sure, it is A metric, but it's not THE metric. A conference can have a fantastic year and underperform in the tourney. Happens all the time. As with any one game and out scenario, it comes down to the team's performance in that one game and has no bearing on the conference at large. The ACC had marquee wins against other conferences all year and was tremendously competitive internally.

This year and last year's ACC were very very similar and last year, was one of the strongest tourney performances ever. This year, individual teams didn't play to their capability when it mattered most. That's all.

Ask yourself this...whoever ends up winning this year, does that mean their conference was the most underrated? Just like last year when the same articles popped up about the Big 10 being overrated...it's just about getting eyeballs on an article. In the end, the ACC's performance throughout the year was among the best in the country AND the teams underperformed in the tourney.