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Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament Preview

By Chris Brown

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The 2015 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament begins Tuesday at Greensboro Coliseum with first round match-ups between the bottom-4 seeds Virginia Tech-Wake Forest and Boston College-Georgia Tech. The Atlantic Coast Conference has also announced that ESPN’s College Gameday will be on-site in Greensboro televising live for the ACC Tournament as well as updates for other conference tournaments. This year’s earlier start will feature the ACC Championship game on Saturday at 8:30 pm on ESPN, the first time the championship game has been played on a Saturday since 1981.

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    • The top 4 seeds will receive a double-bye in the tournament, and Duke will play their first game on Thursday at 7:00 against the winner of NC State and Pitt. The Blue Devils are currently on an 11-game winning streak since losing at Notre Dame in January, and will have tons of momentum heading into the March tournaments. Duke ended the regular season with an 84-77 win at UNC led by Tyus Jones’ career-high 24 points. Jones did leave the game due to back spasms after a scary fall, but was able to return to the game after stretching it out on the bench and appears to be good to go for the ACC Tournament.

    Duke will be the #2 seed in the tournament behind regular season champion Virgina, the first program besides Duke and UNC to win back-to-back ACC regular season titles. The Blue Devils will be led by ACC Player and Freshman of the Year Jahlil Okafor, as well as All-ACC selections Quinn Cook (2nd Team), Tyus Jones (3rd, Freshman Team), and Justise Winslow (Honorable Mention, Freshman Team).

    Even though Duke has a very thin bench with only 8 players in its rotation, they have been undefeated since Rasheed Sulaimon’s dismissal and have key role players such as Matt Jones and Grayson Allen have stepped up to provide significant contributions.

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    There are several key storylines to keep up with in this year’s tournament, most notably the absence of Syracuse who has been banned from all post-season play due to NCAA violations. Coach Jim Boeheim has also been suspended for 9 games, loses 12 scholarships, and will have 108 wins vacated from his career. Syracuse is expected to appeal the ban at the end of the season but are already disqualified from the ACC and NCAA tournaments this year. With the 14-team tournament, the only difference scheduling-wise is that 10th seed Pittsburgh will not have to play in the first round in what would normally have a game between the 10 and 15 seed.

    Virginia will be led by ACC Coach of the Year Tony Bennett along with All-ACC First Team guard Malcolm Brogdon. While Duke has the #1 offense in the ACC and one of the best offenses in the country, Virginia has the top defense in the NCAA. The Cavaliers are also expecting All-ACC guard Justin Anderson to make his return in the ACC tournament, which will make Virginia even more dangerous heading into March. As of right now, Virginia and Duke are both 1 seeds along with Kentucky and Villanova, with Wisconsin and Arizona in the mix as well.

    Several teams will also be playing for a chance to get/stay in the March Madness Tournament, including NC State and Miami, who were on the bubble for most of the season in conference play with some good wins (both upset Duke) and some bad losses (both lost to Wake Forest).

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    NC State is currently predicted to be in while Miami is currently listed in the ‘First Four Out’, but a strong showing in the ACC tourney will help both teams solidify a spot in the 68 teams to participate. Pittsburgh, Clemson, and Florida State have also spent time on the NCAA bubble this season, but are now highly unlikely to make it in this year without winning the ACC tournament championship.

    Duke is peaking at the right time and is now the favorite to win the ACC Tournament, but the Blue Devils will most like have to play against a team they lost to earlier in the season to make it to the championship game, including possible rematches with NC State in the quarterfinals and Notre Dame or Miami in the semifinals.

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