By Nicki Jhabvala

From the feel-good stories to just plain feel-awful stories, the Atlantic Coast Conference packed the highlight reels. The flashy dunks and "special" fans proved just why the Holidays bring out the best in all of us.

1) North Carolina

When UNC forward LaToya Pringle isn't fighting for a loose ball, she likes to shop ... and shop some more. AP

UNC forward LaToya Pringle waltzed into the Virginia Tech postgame interviews donning a fashionable handbag. Her teammates call her a priss and she lists shopping on Rodeo Drive as something she could spend hours doing. But Pringle's skills on the court are hardly prissy and her game is worth more than anything Marc Jacobs ever produced. The 6-foot-3 junior scored a career-high 22 points and added nine rebounds, two steals and three blocks (all within only 26 minutes) to lead the Tar Heels over Virginia Tech 102-68. The victory marked the fourth time this season UNC has reached the 100-point mark in a game.

Gut feeling: Pringle's future will not include Nike or Adidas endorsements. Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton are looking prominent.

2) Clemson

When you're the only undefeated team left in the league and you finally cracked the Top 25 after a seven-year hiatus, you're doing something right. Especially in a season most predicted would be a struggle just to achieve last year's NIT run.  The Tigers, who extended their winning streak to 17 games with a win against N.C. State yesterday, are only one game away from beating the school's record of consecutive wins in a season.

Gut feeling: Jan. 17 against the Tar Heels will prove if the Tigers are as good as their record says. If the Tigers do win, it will probably be by a last-second layup -- just like the Florida State game and just like the Georgia Tech game.

3) Virginia Tech

Who cares about the Hokies' record? After losing to Duke last year on a 40-foot prayer by Sean Dockery at the buzzer, Virginia Tech retaliated with a 68-67 overtime win against the Blue Devils in Durham.  And just to tantalize Duke haters across the nation, Tech's Deron Washington's dunk/hurdle over Greg Paulus was enough to fuel the anti-Duke spirit for the next four days.

Gut feeling: N/A. I just wanna see that dunk again.

4) Virginia

It just wasn't a good week for the Cavaliers. At least, not on the basketball court. On the golf course, it was a great week for the Cavaliers. Senior golfer Leah Wigger claimed the top spot at the 2007 Harder Hall Women's Invitational in Sebring, Fla. on Jan. 7. Wigger swept a field of 132 competitors with a three-stroke lead after four days and 72 holes. The Kentucky native moved up in the Golfweek amateur rankings from 11th to a tie for 5th with the tournament win.

Gut feeling: Wigger may need to keep moving up in the rankings because the basketball team continues to move down.

5) Florida State

The Seminoles men's basketball team had an eight-game winning streak before losing their first conference matchup to Clemson, 68-66. But the real stars of the show are the 20 Golden Girls who line the sides of the court. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the dance team has ranked among the Top Five at the National Dance Association's Collegiate Nationals ever since coach Wendy Crawford took charge four years ago. And this year, as the Golden Girls prepare for the 2007 Nationals at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in early February, they're hoping to claim the top spot. You see, this is more that just dancing. From two-a-days everyday and additional practices with a guest choreographer, the Golden Girls put as much work into their sport as any other athletes. And they got the grades. Try a team grade point average of 3.66.

Gut feeling: The Golden Girls will take home a golden trophy in February.

6) Maryland

As if winning the national title last year wasn't enough, the Lady Terrapins continue to dominate the field. In a 80-61 rout of N.C. State on Jan. 3, coach Brenda Frese picked up her 100th win at Maryland, senior guard Shay Doron scored 10 points to move her into second place on the school's career scoring list with a total of 1,681. THEN, the Terrapins downed Michigan State on Saturday to extend it's nation-high winning streak to 23 games extending back to the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Oh yeah, and Doron became only the sixth player in the program's history to record more than 200 steals over the holiday break. A good week? More like a good two years.

Gut feeling: Repeat.