College Basketball
ACC Tournament Preview
The ACC Tournament bracket is set and ready to go beginning on Tuesday and the action will be held at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Seeding Breakdown
1) Virginia Cavaliers (28-2, 16-2)
2) North Carolina Tar Heels (26-5, 16-2)
3) Duke Blue Devils (26-5, 14-4)
4) Florida State Seminoles (25-6, 13-5)
5) Virginia Tech Hokies (23-7, 12-6)
6) Syracuse Orange (19-12, 10-8)
7) Louisville Cardinals (19-12, 10-8)
8) NC State Wolfpack (21-10, 9-9)
9) Clemson Tigers (19-12, 9-9)
10) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (14-17, 6-12)
11) Boston College Eagles (14-16, 5-13)
12) Miami Hurricanes (13-17, 5-13)
13) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-19, 4-14)
14) Pittsburgh Panthers (13-18, 3-15)
15) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-18, 3-15)
The Virginia Cavaliers earned the #1 overall seed due to their head to head win over #2 seed North Carolina. Duke enters as the #3 seed with Florida State making a late surge to surpass the Hokies to take the #4 seed. The top four seeds will not play until the quarter finals on Thursday, March 14th, as the top four seeds all earn a double bye in the tournament.
ACC Tournament Schedule
First Round – Tuesday, March 12th
Game 1: No. 12 Miami vs. No. 13 Wake Forest | Noon | ESPN
Game 2: No. 10 Georgia Tech vs. No. 15 Notre Dame | 2 p.m. | ESPN
Game 3: No. 11 Boston College vs. No. 14 Pittsburgh | 7 p.m. | ESPNU
Second Round – Wednesday, March 13th
Game 4: No. 8 NC State vs. No. 9 Clemson | Noon | ESPN
Game 5: No. 5 Virginia Tech vs. Game 1 winner | 2 p.m. | ESPN
Game 6: No. 7 Louisville vs. Game 2 winner | 7 p.m. | ESPN2
Game 7: No. 6 Syracuse vs. Game 3 winner | 9 p.m. | ESPN2
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 14th
Game 8: No. 1 Virginia vs. Game 4 winner | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2
Game 9: No. 4 Florida State vs. Game 5 winner | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2
Game 10: No. 2 North Carolina vs. Game 6 winner | 7 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2
Game 11: No. 3 Duke vs. Game 7 winner | 9 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2
Semi Finals – Friday, March 15th
Game 12: Gm. 8 winner vs. Gm. 9 winner | 7 p.m. | ESPN
Game 13: Gm. 10 winner vs. Gm. 11 winner | 9 p.m. | ESPN
ACC Championship – Saturday, March 16th
Game 14: Game 12 winner vs. Game 13 winner | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN
The Favorites
Virginia
Virginia has to be labeled a prime contender. A squad that has lost just two games this year, has been poised in every single game to the finish. With seasoned veterans and 2018 ACC Tournament Champions Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, and De’Andre Hunter leading the way, the Cavaliers are poised to become back-to-back champions in the ACC Tournament.
North Carolina
North Carolina won a share of the ACC Regular season title and earned a #2 seed in the ACC Tournament. Despite fielding a very different team this year than they did a year ago, Roy Williams and Carolina haven’t lost a step in ACC Play. The Heels swept Duke, who did not have Zion Williamson, but still impressive nonetheless. With the senior duo of Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson plus star freshman Coby White, North Carolina can hang 90 points on you if you fall asleep on defense or in transition.
Duke
The good news for Duke is that it is almost guaranteed that Zion Williamson will be back for Duke’s quarterfinals game on Thursday. With Zion in the lineup, Duke should not only be considered a primary contender, they should be seen as the #1 overall contender. Zion coming back not only brings paint dominance on both ends of the court, it opens up the defense for RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish, who were suffocated by opposing defenses.
Sleepers
Florida State
It might be tough to view a #4 seed as a sleeper, but in the case of the Noles, they are indeed a sleeper pick. When the top three seeds in the conference are considered National Title contenders and the #5 seed Virginia Tech is considered the better team, that’ll happen. The Noles have arguably the deepest bench of anyone in the ACC, as they use eleven players throughout the course of most of their games. Above all, they will be the freshest team in a tournament that features zero rest days in between games. They also have the veterans to win big games in Phil Cofer and Terance Mann plus leading scorer, sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele.
Syracuse
Hall of Fame Head Coach Jim Boeheim always seems to have his Syracuse Orange ready in the month of March. Last year, the Orange were a #11 seed in the NCAA Tournament and they made a run to the Sweet 16, where they lost a close game to Duke. Coach Boeheim was fortunate enough to return all five starters from last year’s tournament run and add multiple pieces that they lacked a year ago.
Louisville
Chris Mack has done a far better job than anyone expected this season. The Cardinals are definitely better than their record indicates, as they should have more wins in the ACC. They were up by 23 points, with just under 10 minutes left, but found a way to blow it. In their season finale against Virginia, Louisville was up 62-61 but ended up scoring just six points to finish the game. Their biggest weakness is closing out games, but they can beat any team in the ACC if they are able to score down the stretch. Jordan Nwora is an elite offensive player, and he by himself can beat you on offense.
Best Potential Matchup
Duke – Carolina
In the semifinals, Duke and Carolina could potentially meet if both do their jobs in the quarterfinals. It would be their third meeting of the season, but the first with Zion Williamson, who will likely play in the ACC Tournament beginning for Duke on Thursday.
Predictions
Round One
No. 12 Miami vs. No. 13 Wake Forest
Winner: Miami
No. 10 Georgia Tech vs. No. 15 Notre Dame
Winner: Georgia Tech
No. 11 Boston College vs. No. 14 Pittsburgh
Winner: Boston College
Round Two
No. 8 NC State vs. No. 9 Clemson
Winner: Clemson
No. 5 Virginia Tech vs. No. 12 Miami
Winner: Virginia Tech
No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech
Winner: Louisville
No. 6 Syracuse vs. No. 11 Boston College
Winner: Syracuse
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 9 Clemson
Winner: Virginia
No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech
Winner: Virginia Tech
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 7 Louisville
Winner: North Carolina
No. 3 Duke vs. No. 6 Syracuse
Winner: Duke
Semifinals
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech
Winner: Virginia
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Duke
Winner: Duke
Championship
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 3 Duke
Duke beat Virginia twice during the regular season, and with Zion Williamson coming back looking to destroy everyone in his path, Duke will have a walk in the park beating Virginia for a third time this season.
Duke wins this game with relative ease.
ACC Tournament MVP
Zion Williamson
Follow us on YouTube and Twitter
Photo Credit
@DukeMBB via Twitter
