Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

By Bill McCarthy

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 07: Souvenir basketballs are displayed for sale at the New York Life 2017 ACC Tournament logo at center court at Barclays Center on March 7, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 07: Souvenir basketballs are displayed for sale at the New York Life 2017 ACC Tournament logo at center court at Barclays Center on March 7, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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Duke basketball
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 07: Vernon Carey Jr. #1 of the Duke Blue Devils (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Bracketology

For most of the ACC’s teams, a trip to the NCAA Tournament is something only an ACC Tournament championship could deliver. The same conference that sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament a year ago only has four schools that are considered locks this season: Florida State, Duke, Louisville and Virginia.

According to Bracket Matrix, which aggregates projections from leading bracketologists, Florida State, Duke and Louisville are all expected to fall between the two-seed and four-seed lines when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed. Virginia, which enters the ACC Tournament on an eight-game winning streak, is currently projected as a No. 7 seed.

Each team could see its position rise or fall based on its performance this week, and those changes could make all the difference in the big dance. If the Blue Devils land a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the East Region, for example, they could wind up playing in front of friendly NCAA Tournament crowds in Greensboro and New York City.

The only team solidly on the bubble is NC State. The Wolfpack will want to add a win or two to its resume in order to avoid sweating on Selection Sunday. If coach Kevin Keatts’ team can do enough to earn a spot, then it will likely be looking at a No. 11 or a No. 12 seed.

Other ACC squads with long-shot chances of sneaking into the NCAA Tournament include Notre Dame, Syracuse and Clemson. All three would need to score major upset wins — and hope that few auto-bids are stolen in mid-major conferences — in order to have a shot.

But each of those teams faces very long odds overall, so it’s unlikely we’ll see any of them when March Madness rolls around. They’ve probably already seen their bubbles burst.

Georgia Tech was dealt a postseason ban by the NCAA in September. The Yellow Jackets will not play in the ACC Tournament and will not be eligible to make the NCAA Tournament.