Before we all go bananas for March Madness, let’s indulge ourselves first with the appetizers in the form of the NCAA’s Championship Week. And speaking of which, the ACC’s own championship tournament is arguably going to be the most promising one among all the other conferences.
No. 8 North Carolina, No. 4 Virginia, No. 7 Miami (FL) and Notre Dame—the top four seeds—have assured themselves of byes straight into the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, No. 17 Duke is in an unusual position as a dark horse contender. The Blue Devils, who finished fifth in the standings, will have no choice but to take a longer rout in their quest for the championship.
Of course, upsets are always lurking around the corner and it’ll be fun to see if the lower-seeded teams can rise to the occasion.
Having all that said, please read on below for our detailed breakdown of the ACC Tournament. You can also checkout our other previews for the WCC, Horizon League and MAAC.
March Madness News & Predictions
- 2016 March Madness Sleepers Predictions and Picks
- 2016 March Madness Longshots and Best Long Shots Picks and Predictions
- 2016 March Madness Preview
- 2016 NCAA March Madness Expert Picks
2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Preview
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North Carolina Tar Heels
Brice Johnson, who leads his team in scoring (16.8) and rebounding (10.8) this season, dominated the Blue Devils with 18 points and 21 boards in that entertaining 76-72 victory over the Blue Devils. And needless to say, his presence and North Carolina’s overall inside attack is going to give all their future opponents a lot of trouble.
The Tar Heels are averaging 82.9 points (9th-highest in the nation) and most of those points have come from the paint thanks to their tenacious rebounding prowess (41.5 RPG). So long as they keep up this relentless attack in the glass, it’s going to be extremely tough for any team to win beat them.
Virginia Cavaliers
Speaking of tough, that’s exactly what the fourth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers (+210) are. Yes, they fell short of nabbing the regular season title, but that’s not going to discourage them in any way from topping this tournament.
The Cavaliers’ stellar defense (59.6 points allowed) unquestionably makes them one of the favorites to win the ACC trophy. And making them even scarier for opposing clubs is that they are led by the likes of Malcolm Brogdon, who became the first ever player in the ACC to be named Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
Brogdon is averaging a team-best 18.4 points with 4.2 rebounds in the regular-season. He seems to be all pumped up and ready to go for their title quest, as the senior guard is posting 22.2 points in his previous five contests.
Duke Blue Devils
Losing the regular season finale to North Carolina hurts, but Duke’s got more important things to worry about after failing to secure the final double-bye for the tournament.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski will need his dynamic duo of Grayson Allen (21.5 PPG) and Brandon Ingram (16.7 PPG) to be at their best form and lead their offense (81.2 points per game) throughout each game.
On the other side of the court though, the Blue Devils (+450) are looking quite shaky especially with their defensive anchor in Amile Jefferson out for the year. Duke’s defense (71.1 points allowed) has got to start delivering the goods. If not, it’s going to be a long day for them when matching up against high-scoring teams.
Sleeper
Syracuse Orange
Yes, the Orange (+1,800) ended their campaign with back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Florida State. But even so, they still have a pretty good chance of bagging the conference championship.
Syracuse’s offense is loaded with a bunch of scorers and shooters who can light up the scoreboard at any given moment. For one, there’s the pair of Michael Gbinije and Malachi Richardson. The two lead the team in scoring this season with 17.6 and 13.2 points, respectively.
Gbinije, in particular, is bound be the most troublesome matchup for opposing teams. He’s been on an offensive onslaught lately, garnering 24.0 points with 6.0 dimes in the last three games. That stretch includes a career performance versus North Carolina State on February 27, during which Gbinije finished with a career-high of 34 points on 11-of-18 shooting.
Long Shot
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
No team is unbeatable. That should be the mantra for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+10,000) as they attempt fancy their (slim) chances of nabbing the conference title.
The Yellow Jackets are likely bursting with confidence right now. They ended their campaign having won five of their final six games, including a much-needed 63-59 victory in their regular-season finale opposite Pittsburgh.
In that game, Adam Smith and Nick Jacobs combined for 42 points and rebounds. Both are averaging double-figures in points this season with 14.6 and 10.6 respectively. But ultimately, the Yellow Jackets’ offense will mainly be dictated by Marcus Georges-Hunt, who leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per contest.
This would be the best time for Georges-Hunt and co. to find their groove. And if they do, don’t be surprised to see Georgia Tech pull off some upsets.
Writer’s Prediction
With Malcolm Brogdon playing at his finest form right now, Virginia wins the ACC title and earns the ticket to the Big Dance.
Create a betting account now and start going crazy for college ball this March.
