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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DURHAM, NC – FEBRUARY 16: Zion Williamson #1 and RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils react following their game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 16, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 94-78. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC – FEBRUARY 16: Zion Williamson #1 and RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils react following their game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 16, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 94-78. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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Virginia

The Wahoos have won two ACC titles in the last five years. Their dominance in the last five years in pretty remarkable considering the state of the program when head coach Tony Bennett took over in 2009. This Virginia plays terrific defense, as always, however, has an extremely efficient offense, too.

The UVa rotation consists of eight players, led by sophomore swingman De’Andre Hunter — the best two-way player in the country — and junior guards Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome. All three can be big-time scorers and are deadly from three-point range. Coach K even offered high praise for Guy in saying he was the best shooter in the ACC since J.J. Redick.

Virginia can win it all, but the Cavaliers will likely have to go through Duke or North Carolina in the final. Can the Hoos beat Duke after being swept by the Blue Devils in the regular season?

North Carolina

Quietly, this could be one Roy Williams’ best teams at North Carolina — and that’s saying something. Heading into the season, the Heels didn’t have that one dominant star and were replacing four-year point guard Joel Berry. Carolina did return a host of talented veterans in Luke Maye, Cam Johnson and Kenny Williams and added a couple of impact freshmen in Coby White and Nassir Little.

On the season, UNC lost five games and those losses came against Texas, Michigan, Kentucky, Louisville and Virginia. Texas was UNC’s only questionable loss.

Carolina has three players averaging in double figures, led by Johnson who averages almost 17 per game. White averages 16 points and four assists per game, while Maye averages a double-double at almost 15 points and 11 rebounds per contest.

Duke

Early in the season, this Duke team looked historically good. Williamson is the best freshman the Blue Devils have had and RJ Barrett is almost as impactful. In fact, Barrett led the ACC in scoring as a freshman, scoring 23 per game. Another super freshman, Cam Reddish, scores 14 per game.

However, things changed when Williamson went down. It’s clear this team is especially reliant on Williamson as the Blue Devils lack a true inside presence without him on the floor. And, despite the abundance of talent, Duke isn’t a very consistent outside shooting team. On the season, Duke ranks No. 327 in three-point field-goal percentage at 30.9 percent. In the second win over Virginia, the Blue Devils shot uncharacteristically well from beyond the arc to secure the season sweep over the Wahoos.

But, with Williamson back in the fold, it’s hard not to believe Duke runs the table and stands tall as ACC champ.

Florida State

The Seminoles are unique. They were ranked in the top 10 in early January and took a trip to Charlottesville to face Virginia. The Cavaliers embarrassed the ‘Noles and it looked like this was an overrated squad.

Boy, how things can change in a hurry.

FSU dominated the league over the final month-and-a-half of conference play and the ‘Noles do it without a star. Mfiondu Kabengele is the leading scorer for FSU at 13 points per game and the 6’10” sophomore pulls down just under six boards per game. He is a terrific defender, too. Florida State’s three guards, Trent Forrest, M.J. Walker and Terance Mann are all capable of big games.

Winning that double-bye could pay huge dividends for FSU.