ACC Basketball: 10 storylines/questions heading into 2024-25

1) Who are the early favorites to win the ACC regular season title?

The UNC Tar Heels won last year's regular season title but with only RJ Davis back, it seems things are wide open for a "new" champion in 2024-25, though the Duke Blue Devils would be hard to pick against. They've got Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster to build their backcourt with Maliq Brown, Sion James, Mason Gillis and a slew of top freshmen prospects ready to prove themselves led by Cooper Flagg. It wouldn't be a shock to see Coach Jon Scheyer win his first ACC regular season crown on the sidelines. He's already got a conference tournament under his belt through two seasons sporting a 54-18 record (.750).

NC State is hard not to notice given the additions of Huntley-Hatfield, Dontrez Styles (Georgetown) and Mike James (Louisville). Styles is another versatile guard/wing who should fit right into Coach Keatts' style of play. He put up 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds on 46.8 percent shooting from 3-point land in the Big East this past season and already has two years of experience under his belt at UNC.

James is another name with experience in the conference. He put up 12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game on 34 percent shooting from 3-point range in 2023-24 with Louisville. With a change of scenery and an opportunity to fill a void on the wing, he's another reason to consider the Wolfpack a favorite to win the ACC regular season crown.

Middlebrooks is due to breakout in the frontcourt with their core backcourt of Michael O'Connell and Jayden Taylor returning. The Wolfpack have an opportunity to gel quite nicely and there have already been solid returns on freshman Paul McNeil Jr.. Look for them to show last year wasn't a fluke as a top team in the standings by March.

Pittsburgh is another squad, as mentioned previously, that ACC fans should expect to finish back at the Top 5 once again. They return ACC Sixth Man of the Year Ishmael Leggett along with Jaland Lowe, Zack Austin and the Diaz Graham twins while adding Cam Corhen (Florida State) and Damian Dunn (Houston).

They finished in 3rd place under Coach Capel in 2022-23 and fourth place this past season in 2023-24. After getting "snubbed" by the NCAA Tournament committee and skipping out on the NIT, they're a team to expect to play with an extra chip on their shoulder, especially when conference play arrives.
Don't be surprised if they're a team leading the charge for the ACC this March.