ACC Basketball News & Notes: Tournament Preview

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Once again, the ACC will be well represented when the NCAA Tournament gets underway this Thursday. Seven league members saw their name in lights when the field was announced on Sunday night. It marks the fifth straight year and seventh overall that the conference has had that many in the field. While some may have suggested that this was a down year for the league, the tournament committee did not share that feeling based on how many were invited. Let’s take a look at who got in and where they were seeded for this year’s event.

As this year’s tournament gets started, it is worth noting the overall success the league has had in this event. The ACC has the winningest conference percentage of any league in the NCAA’s at .654. They are the only league that can boast not having a losing record in the tournament since 1987. In the last five years alone, the ACC has won a record 74 games in this event placing five teams in the Final Four, with three of them winning National Championships (Duke in 2015, North Carolina in 2017, and Virginia in 2019). Programs currently in this league have gone on to win 17 NCAA championships. This league enjoys the stages that the month of March presents.

The highest-seeded teams in this year’s field are Virginia and Florida State, both are #4 seeds. These two teams will get underway in the tournament on Saturday. Virginia (18-6) will take on the #13 seeded Ohio University (16-7) in the West Region. This is the seventh straight year that Virginia has made the field. It’s their eighth trip in the last nine years with Tony Bennett in charge. Overall, the Cavaliers are making their 24th appearance in this tournament with a record of 35-22 with Final Four appearances in 1981, 1984, and 2019 the year they won it all. Florida State is in the East Region and will play #13 seed UNC Greensboro (21-8) on Saturday. The Seminoles (16-6), are making their fourth straight trip to the field and 18th all-time. This will be the eighth time that head coach Leonard Hamilton will be on the sidelines for this program. In their history, Florida State is 21-17 in NCAA games.

Three teams were sent to the Midwest Region and will begin play on Friday. Georgia Tech (17-8), coming off winning the Atlantic Coast Conference post-season event, was seeded #9 and will take on Loyola Chicago (24-4). It has been some time since the Yellow Jackets have made the field. The last time they were here was in 2010. It snapped the second-longest drought in the conference. Georgia Tech is making their 17th trip to the tournament and is 23-16 all-time with Final Four appearances in 1990, 2004. Clemson (16-7) is the #7 seeded in this region and will face Rutgers (15-11). The tournament has not been kind to the Tigers as this will be their 12th time in the event and the team’s record is under .500 at 9-11. Syracuse (16-9) is the #11 seed and will take on San Diego State (23-4) the #6 seed. This will be the 41st trip and the 35th under coach Jim Boeheim. The Orange own a 64-40 all-time record including the 2003 National Championship.

Two ACC programs are heading to the South Region. They are North Carolina as the #8 seed and they will face Wisconsin (17-12) on Friday. The Tar Heels will be making their 51st trip to the Big Dance, the most of any program in the conference. This will be the 16th time that Roy Williams will be at the helm of the team. North Carolina owns a 126-47 record and six National Championships. The last three under Williams. Virginia Tech is the 10th seed in the South. The Hokies (15-6) will meet the #7 seed the Florida Gators (14-9). Virginia Tech is making their fourth straight trip and 12th overall. They will be guided for the first time by second-year head coach Mike Young. Tech, like Clemson, has had a hard time winning games in this event. They arrive at this year’s tournament with an overall record of 8-11.

The Louisville Cardinals (13-7) are a first alternate and will be included in the tournament only if another team for whatever reason can not make their scheduled first-round game.