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ACC’s move to 16 teams waiting on two schools ...

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Mike Miller

Connecticut wants to join Syracuse and Pitt as Big East transplants in the ACC. Same with Rutgers.

But neither will get an answer until Texas decides its next move.

School president Bill Powers got the go-ahead by his bosses for the Longhorns to leave the Big 12 Monday. But it’s unclear if the Longhorns want to move to the Pac-12, ACC or possibly help the Big 12 stay intact. Knowing Texas, anything’s possible.

That leaves the ACC at 14 teams until the dust settles a bit. And as Pete Thamel from the N.Y. Times explains in this SportsTalk video, they’ll be waiting until the two big fish out there – Texas and Notre Dame – decide what their moves are.

“A year ago, when we had all our upheaval, it was all about Notre Dame and Texas. And not surprisingly, a year and change later, it’s still all about Notre Dame and Texas. Until those situations are solidified, the ACC won’t move to 16,” Thamel said.

“And also, nobody wants to look predatory. You can mortally wound the Big East, but flat annihilating them would be bad form.”

My gut says the ACC adds UConn and Rutgers. The Huskies make sense for the hoops and the Scarlet Knights make sense … for some reason. They supposedly have appeal as a TV market into New York, even though it’s hard to see why people would want to watch them.

Regardless, those moves make sense, which brings us to a full 16-team (football AND basketball) megaconference. Who’s next?

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