The assistants weren't man enough to put their names to the comments so it is difficult to consider the context in which their evaluation occurs. Maybe the league was overrated, that is certainly a possibility, even a strong one for people not wanting to evaluate further.

The tourney is a lot like what Coach Beamer used to say about wins and losses. Things are never as good or as bad as they might seem in the context of a small sample size. In the tourney, seeding and placement can impact a game. Conference tourneys can leave teams out of gas. Who knows, the switch to the 18 game conference regular season improved TV money but, could leave teams gassed and also offers two fewer opportunities for gauging the league against out of conference foes. The ACC layed an egg, no way around that. The reasons for that egg and the long term implications, if any, have yet to be fully explored by the media and people closer to the situation and hanging it solely on being overrated is the quick and convenient way out.