ACC Basketball: 2022 conference tournament preview and predictions

From the beginning, we knew this season in ACC Basketball would be different. We knew as soon as Mike Krzyzewski announced this would be his final year at Duke, but what nobody counted on was the absolute chaos that would take place behind the national title contenders from Durham. Just how chaotic has it been? Two of the three teams that earned a bye into the quarterfinals, Notre Dame and Miami were picked to finish 8th and 12th respectively.

Even though Duke should be the prohibitive favorite when things get underway Tuesday, how this tournament plays out is anyone’s guess thanks to the inconsistent play of everyone not named Duke. Even teams that finished near the bottom of the conference such as Pittsburgh and Boston College have become bigger roadblocks as the season has gone on, adding to the unpredictability that is likely to take place at the Barclay’s Center.

We often see conferences with a lot of parity beat up on each other, and that is what happened to the middle of the ACC with the No. 5-No. 10 seeds separated by five games. Even with one dominant team, it will be fascinating to see how the ACC Tournament plays out.

Will, there be a surprise winner in the topsy-turvy conference or will this be one final league coronation for Coach Krzyzewski? Whatever the outcome, nearly every game, every day will have major NCAA Tournament implications and we don’t get to say that often for a power-5 conference. Here is how I think the intriguing and confusing event could play out.