ACC MBB Conference Tournament Predictions

March! March is here and the whole sports world turns its attention to college basketball. Before March Madness, conference tournaments make or break bubble teams, determine national seeding, and occasionally birth underdogs known as "bid stealers." In this article, I break down the ACC tournament, featuring a title contender in the Duke Blue Devils, as well as tournament hopefuls such as Virginia Tech.

First Round (3/8)

13 Boston College over 12 Pittsburgh

10 Clemson over 15 NC State

11 Louisville over 14 Georgia Tech

Analysis: These games were completed prior to this article.

Second Round (3/9)

9 Syracuse over 8 Florida State

5 Wake Forest over 13 Boston College

7 Virginia Tech over 10 Clemson

6 Virginia over 11 Louisville

Analysis: Both Florida State and Syracuse have been very disappointing this year, but they have the personnel to make a run in this tournament. The season series between these teams was split. Syracuse is actually forth in the ACC in terms of PPG, but their defense is atrocious. Florida State is mediocre all around, but long and athletic players such as guards Matthew Cleveland and Cam'Ron Fletcher. Syracuse, led by G Buddy Boeheim, is very hard to stop when they're making their threes. I like the Orange to move on. Boston College really isn't a good team, as indicated by their 30 point loss to Wake Forest back in January. Wake Forest has been maybe the biggest surprise team in the ACC this season, largely due to senior G Alondes Williams rising to win ACC Player of the Year. Give me the Demon Deacons by a ton. Clemson beat Virginia Tech last week in a defensive slugfest, which makes me hesitant to take Clemson to win twice in a week against the same team. Despite a mediocre showing in conference play, Virginia Tech is squarely on the bubble according to Joe Lunardi. Both teams play with incredibly slow tempo, they are incredibly similar teams. The difference for me is Virginia Tech F Keve Aluma, who's scoring 15.4 PPG and averaging 6.5 RPG. I like the Hokies to capture a win. To conclude the second round, we have a Virginia team that is looking to play their way into March Madness, while Louisville is making one last run before they find their next coach. Neither team scores much, but the Cavaliers have the advantage defensively. G Reece Beekman is an outstanding defender and ECU transfer F Jayden Gardner can score enough to get Virginia past Louisville.

Quarterfinals (3/10)

1 Duke over 9 Syracuse

5 Wake Forest over 4 Miami

7 Virginia Tech over 2 Notre Dame

3 North Carolina over 6 Virginia

Analysis: Never say never, especially with as good of a shooting team as Syracuse, but I'd be shocked if Duke lost this game. Duke beat Syracuse by 20 points in each of their regular season matchups, stifling the Syracuse deep ball. Future top ten NBA selection Paolo Banchero should have a field day against the bad defense of Syracuse. Make it Duke by twenty for a third time. Miami has beaten Wake Forest twice, but both games were quite competitive. Miami has a slew of scorers in the guard trio of Kameron McGusty, Isaiah Wong, and Charlie Moore. Offense isn't a problem for the Hurricanes, their defense is what holds them back. Alondes Williams averaged 20 PPG in his two appearances against Miami, so I like him to be able to carry the Demon Deacons to a victory. Notre Dame has been very impressive this year, but Virginia Tech is no cakewalk. Blake Wesley, Notre Dame's true freshman guard, is averaging 14,8 PPG and is crucial to Notre Dame's success. While Notre Dame is safely in the NCAA Tournament, Virginia Tech is fighting for the postseason life. With their backs against the wall, I'm predicting a big game from Keve Aluma en route to a semifinal birth for the Hokies. North Carolina's victory over Duke likely put the Tar Heels in the field of 68, though an ACC title would improve their seeding drastically. UNC torched UVA in their lone matchup back in January, as the Cavaliers surrendered 29 points and 22 rebounds to Armando Bacot. I don't foresee Virginia being able to produce enough offense to knock off the Tar Heels.

Semifinals (3/11)

1 Duke over 5 Wake Forest

7 Virginia Tech over 3 North Carolina

Analysis: Wake Forest challenged Duke during the regular season, however they couldn't grab a win. The Blue Devils are such a complete team, and although it's challenging to stop Alondes Williams, the presence of big man Mark Williams should negatively effect the Demon Deacons offense. Duke isn't an elite three point shooting team, but A.J. Griffin and Wendell Moore Jr. can bury teams from deep. Wake Forest simply seems overmatched, Duke moves on. UNC has already defeated Virginia Tech twice, which doesn't necessarily inspire confidence in picking the Hokies. However, North Carolina has been an inconsistent team, and if you can get F Armando Bacot into foul trouble, the Tar Heels are quite vulnerable. I'm gonna be bold and take Virginia Tech to upset UNC and advance to the conference title game.

Championship (3/12)

1 Duke over 7 Virginia Tech

Analysis: The final ACC game of Coach K's career, can Virginia Tech spoil it like North Carolina spoiled his last home game last week? My guess is no, although Duke isn't unbeatable. The size and skill of Duke's Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams simply cannot be matched by the Hokies, so for that reason, I am picking the Duke Blue Devils to win the ACC tournament.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! Can Virginia or Virginia Tech get off the bubble? Will Syracuse catch fire? Who do you have winning the tournament? Let me know in the comments down below!

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Note: Thank you to FanDuel for the graphic provided at the top of the article