The ACC was a bit of a disappointment this season, as UNC and Duke struggled. Virginia also wasn’t their dominant selves. This opened the door for some of the second-tier teams to make a name for themselves. Clemson, Georgia Tech and Syracuse had decent seasons, resulting in better seeding in the tournament. Let’s take a look at the ACC Tournament bracket and schedule, then preview what we can expect to see.
ACC Basketball Standings
Team | Conference Record | Overall Record | Tournament Outlook |
Virginia | 13-4 | 17-6 | 1 Seed |
Florida State | 11-4 | 15-5 | 2 Seed |
Virginia Tech | 9-4 | 15-5 | 3 Seed |
Georgia Tech | 11-6 | 15-8 | 4 Seed |
Clemson | 10-6 | 16-6 | 5 Seed |
North Carolina | 10-6 | 16-9 | 6 Seed |
Louisville | 8-5 | 13-6 | 7 Seed |
Syracuse | 9-7 | 15-8 | 8 Seed |
North Carolina State | 9-8 | 13-9 | 9 Seed |
Duke | 9-9 | 11-11 | 10 Seed |
Notre Dame | 7-11 | 10-14 | 11 Seed |
Pittsburgh | 6-10 | 10-11 | 12 Seed |
Miami | 4-15 | 8-16 | 13 Seed |
Wake Forest | 3-15 | 6-15 | 14 Seed |
Boston College | 2-11 | 4-15 | 15 Seed |
ACC Basketball Tournament Schedule
Dates: March 9th-13th
TV: ACC Network, ESPN, ESPN2
Site: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Byes: 5-9 seeds have a single bye, 1-4 have a double bye
Most Recent Champion: Duke
ACC Basketball Tournament Bracket
First Round
- (12) Pittsburgh 73, (13) Miami 79
- (10) Duke 86, (15) Boston College 51
- (11) Notre Dame 80, (14) Wake Forest 77
Second Round
- (8) Syracuse 89, (9) NC State 68
- (13) Miami 67, (5) Clemson 64
- (10) Duke 70, (7) Louisville 56
- (6) North Carolina 101, (11) Notre Dame 59
Quarterfinals
- (1) Virginia 72, (8) Syracuse 69
- (4) Georgia Tech 70, (13) Miami 66
- (10) Duke vs. (2) Florida State (UNCONTESTED)
- (6) North Carolina 81, (3) Virginia Tech 73
Semifinals
- (2) Florida State 69, (6) North Carolina 66
- (4) Georgia Tech vs. (1) Virginia (UNCONTESTED)
Championship
- (4) Georgia Tech 80, (2) Florida State 75
Georgia Tech advances to the NCAA Tournament
ACC Basketball Breakdown
Virginia took home the ACC regular season title, making it the Cavaliers’ fifth title in the last eight years. The Cavaliers once again rode their slow place and exceptional defense (5th in the nation with 60.1 PPG allowed) to win the conference. Virginia Tech was a surprising team this season. The Hokies don’t excel in one specific category, but their team play and spread out stat distribution propelled them to wins over Virginia and Villanova.
A couple sleeper teams in the ACC Tournament this season could be North Carolina and Duke. Roy Williams’ Tarheels once again dominated rebounding the ball. They finished first in the nation in offensive rebounds (15.3 ORB) and third in the nation in total rebounds (42.8 TRB). UNC’s ability to use four big guys should play a huge factor into beating smaller ACC teams.
Duke is in a position where they need to make a run to get a bid for the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils don’t have a great amount of talent this season, but they still have Mike Krzyzewski as their head coach. Duke hasn’t missed the tournament since 1995, but with one of the most legendary coaches in college basketball history, don’t expect the Blue Devils to suffer a quick loss in the ACC Tournament.
The preseason basketball poll was pretty accurate this season. The biggest overachiever in relation to the the preseason poll was Virginia Tech. The Hokies were projected to finish eleventh, but actually finished third. The biggest underachiever in relation to the preseason poll was Duke, who was projected to finish second, but actually finished tenth.