In a year where strong mid majors are being passed over for at large consideration, conferences like the ACC stand to benefit from it. For a while, the ACC was projected to have 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament, until it became obvious that a team that finished 6-12 in conference play with 14 losses overall doesn't deserve at large consideration *cough, Clemson*. That being said, ten teams are still projected to be in the field at present, though we'll discuss that more in a minute.
The conference was won by North Carolina for the second year in a row, winning it by two games over Florida State, Louisville, and Notre Dame. The Tar Heels are currently projected as the third #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, behind Villanova and Kansas. North Carolina has six losses, however, and if they stumble early and other teams like Kentucky, Oregon, or Baylor make a run, they could fall off of the top line.
North Carolina was able to keep above the log jam that pervades the top half of the conference. Florida State, Louisville, and Notre Dame finished 12-6 and got a double bye in the ACC Tournament. Duke and Virginia finished 11-7, and Virginia Tech, Miami, and Syracuse all finished 10-8. All of these teams appear in most bracket projections, along with Wake Forest who finished 9-9.
As for the seeding projections, Louisville is looking at a 2 seed, Florida State is at 3 seed, Duke is on the 4 line. Virginia and Notre Dame are both looking at 5 seeds, a seed line notorious for being upset by 12 seeds. Miami and Virginia Tech round out the safe seeds, both of which are located on the 8 line. Then things get a bit trickier, with Wake Forest and Syracuse both thoroughly on the bubble as 11 seeds. Losing early could doom either of those teams to the NIT, while make picking up multiple wins here could go a long way to securing an at large bid.
The ACC Tournament will feature all 15 teams from the conference. The teams seeded fifth through ninth will get a single bye to the second round and the top four seeds got a double bye to the quarterfinals. The tournament will take place at the Barclays Center from March 7th to March 11th .
First Round-Tuesday, March 7th
#13 North Carolina State vs. #12 Clemson
#15 Boston College vs. #10 Wake Forest
#14 Pittsburgh vs. #11 Georgia Tech
Second Round-Wednesday, March 8th
#9 Miami vs. #8 Syracuse
#12 Clemson vs. #5 Duke
#10 Wake Forest vs. #7 Virginia Tech
#11 Georgia Tech vs. #6 Virginia
Quarterfinals-Thursday, March 9th
#9 Miami vs. #1 North Carolina
#5 Duke vs. #4 Louisville
#10 Wake Forest vs. #2 Florida State
#6 Virginia vs. #3 Notre Dame
Semifinals-Friday, March 10th
#4 Louisville vs. #1 North Carolina
#6 Virginia vs. #2 Florida State
Championship-Saturday, March 11th
In their only matchup this season, North Carolina handed Florida State a double digit loss in a game in mid-January. That was naturally a long time ago, but it isn't hard to expect a similar result. North Carolina fell in the National Championship game last year on a Kris Jenkins three with no time left, but this year, but the Tar Heels are as strong as they were last year and could make a title run. They'll have two tournament championships this year at least, one in Maui and the second in New York City.
Florida State 74, North Carolina 80
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