Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball Tournament: Virginia, UNC and Duke fight for the title

By Bryan Manning

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 11: Jay Huff #30 of the Virginia Cavaliers blocks a shot by Coby White #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half of a game at the Dean Smith Center on February 11, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Virginia won 69-61. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 11: Jay Huff #30 of the Virginia Cavaliers blocks a shot by Coby White #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half of a game at the Dean Smith Center on February 11, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Virginia won 69-61. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 15: (L-R) Nassir Little #5, Coby White #2 and Luke Maye #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels react during the second half of their against the Gonzaga Bulldogs game at the Dean Smith Center on December 15, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 103-90. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 15: (L-R) Nassir Little #5, Coby White #2 and Luke Maye #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels react during the second half of their against the Gonzaga Bulldogs game at the Dean Smith Center on December 15, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 103-90. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

ACC Bracketology

The league has been fairly top-heavy in 2019. Duke and Virginia have virtually spent the entire season ranked among the top five teams in the country. However, UNC surged in ACC play and have remained at the top. Early in the season, Florida State struggled in conference play, losing four of its first five conference games before rallying to win 10 of its final 11 games with the only loss coming to North Carolina. FSU received the fourth seed by virtue of its win over Virginia Tech in overtime last week in Tallahassee.

Speaking of the Hokies, they had a terrific season considering the adversity they faced. Just before the beginning of the season, head coach Buzz Williams received news he’d be without key senior Chris Clarke and four-star freshman Landers Nolley. The Hokies, behind Justin Robinson, Kerry Blackshear and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had a terrific season, even spending some time inside of the top 10. Robinson was injured in late January, however, Williams kept this team in position for a double bye until the last week of the regular season.

These are the ACC’s top five teams and all are a lock for the NCAA Tournament. No. 6 Syracuse and No. 7 Louisville are essentially locks, too. Chris Mack did a terrific job in his first season with Louisville and the Cardinals battled top-seeded Virginia in Charlottesville on the last day of the regular season and fell just short.

According to Joe Lunardi of ESPN, he has Virginia, North Carolina, Duke, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Louisville as locks, while he has Syracuse as “should be in.” Clemson, the No. 8 seed, finished the season with a 9-9 mark in ACC play and an overall record of 19-12. Lunardi believes the Tigers still have work to do.

The No. 9 seed, N.C. State is another team Lunardi feels needs another win or two. The Wolfpack had a 9-9 record in conference play and an overall record of 21-10. The Wolfpack looked strong early in the season but had some ugly losses, including one at home where they scored just 24 points against Virginia Tech and another against one of the worst teams in the ACC, Georgia Tech.

Clearly, the Tigers and Wolfpack need another win or two, unfortunately for them, only one of them can pick up a conference win as they face one another on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.