DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 18: A general view of the tip-off between the Louisville Cardinals and Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 18, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)We are less than a week away from the ACC Tournament tipping off in Greensboro. For many of the league’s teams, a number of whom are having down seasons, it is a huge opportunity to land some big wins and get over to the right side of the bubble, if not score an automatic bid by taking home the whole thing.
Last night, Syracuse got to 17-13 and 10-9 in conference play with a win over Boston College (13-17, 7-12), and North Carolina got one step closer to .500, beating fellow basement dweller Wake Forest. The Tar Heels are now 13-17, half a game behind the Demon Deacons, who fall to 13-16, with both teams at 6-13 in ACC play. Tonight is a big one for the league, with four ACC games set.
At 7 p.m. ET, Virginia Tech (15-14, 6-12) hosts Clemson (15-13, 9-9) and Notre Dame (18-11, 9-9) has a chance to score a big win over No. 7 Florida State (24-5, 14-4). The ‘Noles are half a game behind Louisville for first place.
This year’s ACC Tournament will feature 14, and not the league’s full 15, teams. Georgia Tech has withdrawn its appeal of this year’s postseason ban. The Yellow Jackets, who are right around the middle of the pack in the league, will not participate in the ACC or NCAA Tournaments.
Georgia Tech will accept NCAA postseason ban, sit out of ACC tournament. Will go into 20-21 season at no risk of ban. Story to come.
— Ken Sugiura (@ksugiuraajc) March 2, 2020
With that decided, here’s how the Tournament bracket would look like before tonight’s ACC games. The Tournament runs from Tuesday, March 10 to Saturday, March 14. All game times are approximate.
First Round, Tues. 3/10:
Game 1: No. 12 Pitt (15-15, 6-13) vs. No. 13 Wake Forest (13-16, 6-13) – 4:30 p.m. ET
Game 2: No. 11 Miami (14-14, 6-12) vs. No. 14 North Carolina (13-17, 6-13) – 7:00 p.m. ET
Second Round, Wed. 3/11:
Game 3: No. 8 NC State (18-12, 9-10) vs. No. 9 Boston College (13-17, 7-12) – 12:00 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 5 Syracuse (17-13, 10-9) vs. Game 1 winner – 2:00 p.m. ET
Game 5: No. 7 Clemson (15-13, 9-9) vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech (15-14, 6-12) – 7:00 p.m. ET
Game 6: No. 6 Notre Dame (18-12, 9-9) vs. Game 2 winner – 9:00 p.m. ET
Quarterfinals, Thu. 3/12:
Game 7: No. 1 Louisville (24-6, 15-4) vs. Game 3 winner – 12:30 p.m. ET
Game 8: No. 4 Virginia (21-7, 13-5) vs. Game 4 winner – 2:30 p.m. ET
Game 9: No. 2 Florida State (14-5, 14-4) vs. Game 5 winner – 7 p.m. ET
Game 10: No. 3 Duke (24-6, 14-4) vs. Game 6 winner – 9 p.m. ET
Semifinals, Fri. 3/13:
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 7 p.m. ET
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner – 9 p.m. ET
Championship, Sat. 3/14:
Game 11 vs. Game 12 winner – 8:30 p.m. ET
