ACC

ACC Basketball News & Notes: Five Teams are Going Dancing

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With the ACC tournament now in the books, it was time to see how the NCAA felt about the teams in this league. On selection Sunday, the ACC found out. Five teams saw their name go up in lights. Duke, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Notre Dame received bids to this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. It should be noted that the ACC is the winningest league in NCAA tournament history with a winning percentage of .654. In the last six tournaments, ACC teams have combined to win 78 games. Five teams have made Final Four appearances, with three of them walking away with a national championship. Duke in 2015, North Carolina in 2017, and Virginia in 2019. Let’s see how this year’s group fares in 2022.

On Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio, Notre Dame (22-10, 15-5), the number 11 seed will play in a first four matchup against Rutgers (18-13) out of the Big-10. This is the 37th bid for the Fighting Irish. This is the first since 2017 and the 13th under head coach Mike Brey. The tournament has not always been kind to ND as they have gone 38-40 all-time in tournament history. Dane Goodwin, averaging 14 points per game, was 19th in the league in scoring. and 6th in field goal percentage at 50%. He knocks down on average two 3-pointers a game. Guard, Preston Hubb, dished out 127 assists on the year to only 51 turnovers for an average of 2.49 assists to turnovers a game. The glass is taken care of by Paul Atkinson who takes down seven a game, and three off the offensive glass. Notre Dame has the third-best scoring defense in the league at 67 points a game, and they are the second-best free-throw shooting team at 76% (367-484). They are second in 3-point FG percentage at 38% (293-771) as well. The man the Irish will have to be concerned about is Rutgers guard Ron Harper Jr. who averaged 16 points a night to go along with six rebounds and 57 assists. He shoots 39% from 3-point land (64-164) and is an 80% free throw shooter (97-122).

The ACC tournament champion, Virginia Tech (23-12, 11-9), earned an #11 seed in the East region and will face the #6 seed Texas Longhorns (23-12) on Friday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Hokies are entering the big dance for the fifth straight year and the second time under head coach Mike Young. Virginia Tech is another team that has struggled in the tournament with an all-time record of 8-12 in 13 appearances. The Hokies are the second-best scoring defense in the league at 62 points a game. The offense centers around Keve Aluma, who was 9th in the league in scoring at 16 points a contest, third in FG percentage at 53% (213-399), and seventh in free-throw shooting at 78% (101-129). They have the best 3-point FG percentage at 39% (315-802), as well as the best rebounding defense at 30 a game (1062 total). Texas is making its 36th trip to the tournament. They are one of eight schools to be a part of 20 of the last 23 events, and one of six to make 28 of the last 33. They ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense at 60 points a game They are a perfect 17-0 when holding opponents to under 60 points. Courtney Ramey averaged 16.5 points and eight boards while knocking down 6-of-12 from three-point range over the team’s last two games. This is the first time the two teams have met.

Miami (23-10, 14-6) will be the #10 seed in the Midwest region and take on the #7 seed Southern California (26-7) out of the Pac-12 on Friday in Greenville. The Hurricanes will be making their 11th appearance in the tournament, and first since 2018. It’s the fifth time with Jim Larranaga as the head coach. Miami is 8-10 all-time in the tournament. Kameron McGusty leads the team in scoring at 18 points a night shooting 48% (203-423) from the field. He is fifth in free throw shooting at 81% (118-145), averaging just under two steals a game. The Hurricanes scored 75 points a night and are the third-best free-throw shooting team at 74% (408-549), and third in FG percentage at 48% (910-1903). They know how to take the ball away as they are first in steals at nine a game (288 in 33 games). USC is making their second straight appearance in the tournament. The #7 seeded Trojans’ 26 wins tied for the most in school history. They are 17-20 all-time in the tournament and reached the Elite Eight last season. These two programs have met twice back in the early 90s with USC winning both games. The Trojans are 10-1 in games decided by five points or less and have come back from down 10 points five times this year. They have trailed by five or more in 17 of their wins this season. Forward Chevez Goodwin has played in 171 career games, second all-time among players in NCAA Division I.

The North Carolina Tar Heels (24-9,15-5) are the #8 seed in the East Region and play #9 seed Marquette (19-12) on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. This is the 52nd time in the big dance, the most of any ACC school. This will be Hurbert Davis’ first time as the head coach. The Tar Heels own a 126-48 record in the tournament. They are the best rebounding offensive team in the league at 40 in 33 games, and they have the best rebounding margin at +7.73. The Tar Heels are the best free-throw shooting team in the conference at 77% and have the third-best offense in the league at 77 points a night. Armando Bacot averaged a double-double this season for UNC with 16 points and 12 rebounds. He is #1 in field goal percentage at 60% (214-358), and #1 in both offensive rebounding at four a game (125) and defensive rebounding at nine a game (287). All of this while blocking nearly two shots a contest (56). Marquette averaged 74 points and 34 rebounds a game. They shot 45% from the field and 35% from 3-point land. Justin Lewis leads the team in scoring at 17 a contest and in rebounding at eight a game. Tyler Kolek leads in assists with six a night, and in steals with two a game. All-time Marquette is 41-34 in the NCAA’s.

Duke (28-6, 16-4) is the #2 seed in the West region and will take on #15 Cal. State Fullerton (21-10) on Friday in Greenville. The Blue Devils are making their 44th appearance in the tournament and the 36th under coach Mike Krzyzewski. Duke is 114-38 all-time in the tournament. The Blue Devils have the best scoring offense in the league at 80 points a game, the best scoring margin at +13.03, the best FG percentage at 49% (1009-2064), and the best 3-point FG percentage defense at 31% (227-722). They led the league in blocked shots averaging 5.53 a game (188 in 34 games). They led in assists with 575 for an average of 17 a game and had the best assists to turnover ratio at 1.65 ( 575 assists to 348 turnovers). Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 17 points with eight rebounds. Mark Williams led in blocked shots with three a night (94 in 34 games), and Trevor Keels was second in assists to turnovers with 2.5 a game (95 assists to 38 turnovers). Cal State Fullerton heads to the big dance on a four-game winning streak, They averaged 70 points a game, shot 44% from the field, and 33% from deep. At the line, they are a 76% free-throw shooting team. Turnovers could be a problem for the Titans as they turn it over 12 times a game with only 11 assists. Senior forward E.J. Anosike averaged 16 points a game while playing 32 minutes a night. He is one of only two Titans players to average in double figures. The other is senior Damari Mitchell at 12 points a game in 30 minutes.

Stay tuned to NGSC Sports as we follow the ACC on the road to the Final Four.

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