ACC Tournament Preview: Will the ACC Have Two 1 seeds?

The ACC has been one of the top conferences all season long with five teams consistently in the top 20 of the AP poll. What can we expect from the upcoming ACC tournament? We take a look at some of the top storylines heading into this week.

Will Duke and Virginia claim 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament?

Duke and Virginia have been two of the best teams in the country this year. Nobody can boast a resume with better victories than the Blue Devils. They sport wins over Wisconsin, Louisville, Virginia, and North Carolina – all of which came on the road. Even with a loss, I think Duke is a lock for a 1 seed.

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Virginia, on the other hand might be more of a question mark for a top seed. The Cavaliers do have some quality wins on the road – at Notre Dame, at North Carolina and at Maryland, though the Terps were without star guard Dez Wells.  The Cavs have been struggling offensively without Justin Anderson. The junior forward was supposed to return last week, but underwent an emergency appendectomy.

If Virginia falters in their first game vs the Clemson/Florida State winner and Wisconsin or Villanova runs the table in their respective leagues the Cavaliers could be bumped down to the 2 line. However, should they advance to the semifinals vs (most likely) Louisville or UNC, I don’t think there’s anyway they’ll be bumped from the top seed line.

How will the ACC’s bubble teams perform?

NC State, Miami and Pittsburgh have all been mentioned in recent weeks as teams that could make the tournament as bubble teams. NC State has some great wins over Duke at home, Louisville on the road, and North Carolina on the road. Not many bubble teams can boast wins as good as that – the Wolfpack are safely in regardless of what happens this week.

Miami has a great win over Duke at Cameron Indoor, but outside of that? Their best win is over NC State at home. The Hurricanes have also fallen to Florida State and Wake Forest on the road and Eastern Kentucky at home. It’s a given they need to win their first game, while a win over Notre Dame would almost guarantee an at-large birth. A loss to Notre Dame and Miami could be sweating it out come Selection Sunday.

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Pittsburgh’s at-large hopes took a huge hit over the past week and a half. The Panthers lost to Wake Forest and Florida State on the road, while falling to Miami at home. They might have a chance for an at-large bid should they make it to the championship, but at this point, they probably have to win the ACC tournament to secure the auto-bid if they want to play in the NCAA Tournament.

The ACC tournament begins on Tuesday. With 5 top-25 teams it should be a great tournament despite the absence of Syracuse, who banned themselves from postseason play earlier this year. Here’s the complete tournament bracket:

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