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GREENSBORO -- After brief discussions indicated unanimous opposition among coaches, the notion of expanding league play from 16 games to 18 is dead in ACC basketball at least through the expiration of the current television contract, which runs through 2010-11, commissioner John D. Swofford said Sunday.

The topic will be brought up again in conjunction with a new round of TV negotiations, but it's highly unlikely the coaches -- whoever they are at that point -- will back down. They all feel the current system is sufficiently challenging while offering enough room to schedule an occasional marquee game outside of the ACC.

"Nobody wants to go to 18 games," Miami's Frank Haith said. "I think we beat each other up enough. And I don't know that our league gets credit from a national standpoint when we beat each other up like that."

The Big Ten, Pac 10 and Big East will play 18 conference games apiece, but their decisions don't necessarily impact the ACC. The 16-team Big East is so vast that it felt compelled to expand its league slate in the name of competitive legitimacy. The 11-team Big Ten needs 18 contests in part because it wants to equip its brand-new, in-house TV network with as many men's basketball games as possible.

TV, of course, wants the 18-game format, and its level of insistence may be a factor in the decision-making process down the road. On the other hand, the timing was right to go to 18 in 2008-09 because that will be the first year of a new, three-year scheduling format. It didn't matter. Schedule expansion would have triggered an immediate increase in hoops TV revenue, but the league decided the status quo was satisfactory.

Will things be different when a new contract and a long-term prognosis are on the table? It's too soon to say.

For now, the ACC has the luxury of waiting and seeing, for example, how well the Big Ten Network does. The bold experiment has everyone's attention but hasn't spawned any duplicates yet.

PREDICTIONS: The identity of the top dog in ACC preseason predictions was hardly in question. UNC received all 64 first-place votes in balloting of media members conducted Sunday. It's the bottom that will raise some eyebrows.

Miami, picked for the middle of the pack by many magazines, checks in at 12th. You can expect Haith to use that for some motivation starting now.

Among those surprised was Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, who augured, "No matter what I say, you guys are going to pick us last." The Hokies finished 10th but were, in fact, chosen last by more electors (24) than anybody else.

Tar Heels center Tyler Hansbrough collected 60 votes for Player of the Year. Virginia's Sean Singletary took the other four.

CALM DOWN: Earlier this month, the NCAA and the National Association of Basketball Coaches jointly issued a statement that bench decorum will be a point of emphasis in officiating this season. There's no new policy here; admonishments against using profanity at any time have always been in officials' guidelines. Therefore, some coaches questioned the need for a public declaration.

"It has brought more attention to it than they needed to," Al Skinner of Boston College said. "They could have done this without a press release.

Also at issue is the emphasis on staying within the coaching box, which varies in width from one court to the next. The length is standard, but some floors have more space between the bench and the sideline than others do.

WAIT AND SEE: Next year, the 3-point line will move back a foot from its current distance of 19 feet, 9 inches. The NCAA has therefore encouraged teams to place the new line on practice courts if they so desire, but very few will apparently take the opportunity.

"We haven't progressed that far as a program that we can start working on next year," Clemson's Oliver Purnell said. "One thing we are doing -- and this (change) makes it more critical -- is we're looking for better shooters with better range."

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels@news-record.com