ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament Brackets: Atlantic Coast Conference Top Seed?


ACC men’s basketball tournament brackets open play on March 7 with three first-round games. The Atlantic Coast Conference still has hopes of landing a No. 1 seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, with the North Carolina Tar Heels standing out as the favorite to win the ACC Tournament. The Florida State Seminoles, Louisville Cardinals, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Duke Blue Devils, and Miami Hurricanes might have something to say about it.

North Carolina has won the regular season conference title, posting a 13-4 record and securing first place in the latest ACC standings. This dictates that North Carolina will be the top seed in the 2017 ACC men’s basketball tournament brackets, earning with it a bye through the first two rounds. The Tar Heels are at 25-5 overall and ranked No. 5 in both major college basketball polls. Winning the 2017 ACC Tournament would certainly give the school a good enough resume to earn a spot on the top line.

As for the No. 2 seed in the ACC tournament brackets, that will take a few more games to decide. Coming into action on Tuesday (Feb. 28), Florida State, Louisville, and Notre Dame are 11-5 in conference play. Duke is right behind them all at 10-6, with three additional schools at 10-7 so far. There is a lot of importance in securing one of the top four seeds, as the reward is a double-bye and getting to rest while the first two rounds play out. That’s a very important aspect of the five-round ACC Tournament.

[Image by Chet Strange/Getty Images]

Florida State beat Louisville and split a season series with Notre Dame, while Louisville has lost to both FSU and Notre Dame so far. This would place Florida State at No. 2, Notre Dame at No. 3, and Louisville at No. 4 with one game left among the schools. On March 4, Louisville hosts Notre Dame in a game that might serve as a must-win situation. Duke is still trying to move up from the No. 5 seed but needs a little help. Duke lost to Louisville and Florida State but beat Notre Dame. The team finishes the regular season with games against Florida State and North Carolina.

No schools other than North Carolina have already clinched a specific seed in the ACC men’s basketball tournament brackets. Even Boston College has a shot to move out of last place with two victories to end the regular season. As it stands, though, Boston College would be seed No. 15, meaning a game against seed No. 10 in the first-round of the ACC tournament schedule. A lot of importance is going to be placed on the final few days of the regular season, with a lot also riding on the Duke vs. North Carolina and Notre Dame vs. Florida State games.

Current 2017 ACC Tournament Brackets And Game Schedule (As Of Feb. 28)

March 7

Game 1: No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 13 Pittsburgh (12 p.m. ET)
Game 2: No. 10 Wake Forest vs. No. 15 Boston College (2 p.m. ET)
Game 3: No. 11 Georgia Tech vs. No. 14 North Carolina State (7 p.m. ET)

March 8

Game 4: No. 8 Virginia vs. No. 9 Syracuse (12 p.m. ET)
Game 5: Game 1 Winner vs. No. 5 Duke (2 p.m. ET)
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech (7 p.m. ET)
Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs. No. 6 Miami (9 p.m. ET)

March 9

Game 8: No. 1 North Carolina vs. Game 4 Winner (12 p.m. ET)
Game 9: No. 4 Louisville vs. Game 5 Winner (2 p.m. ET)
Game 10: No. 2 Florida State vs. Game 6 Winner (7 p.m. ET)
Game 11: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Game 7 Winner (9 p.m. ET)

[Image by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]

In the latest Bracketology report by ESPN, six ACC schools are projected to make the 2017 NCAA Tournament. That includes North Carolina as a No. 1 seed in the South Region and Louisville as a No. 2 seed in the East Region. The other ACC teams showing up in the NCAA tournament brackets are Florida State as a No. 3, Duke as a No. 4, Virgina as a No. 5, Notre Dame as a No. 5, Miami as a No. 8, Virginia Tech as a No. 10, and Syracuse as a No. 10. Games over the next week and during the 2017 ACC tournament schedule could dictate how it ends up looking in March.

It is presumable that Notre Dame could move up in a big way with victories over Boston College and Louisville this week. That would continue the current five-game winning streak that the Fighting Irish are working with and build additional momentum for the conference tournament. It’s also possible for Florida State or Louisville to make a run at a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance by finishing out the season with winning streaks of their own. In the end, it would be tough to steal a spot away from North Carolina this late in the season, but not impossible.

The Atlantic Coast Conference might have trouble getting a ninth team into the NCAA Tournament, though, as Syracuse has dropped to 17-13 and would need a deep run in the conference tournament to get enough support from the selection committee. The Syracuse schedule has only a game against Georgia Tech on March 4 before the school finds out the exact seeding in the ACC tournament brackets. Finishing with at least the No. 9 seed will guarantee a first-round bye and a game against the No. 8 seed in a second-round matchup.

Game 1 of the 2017 ACC men’s basketball tournament brackets takes place on Tuesday, March 7, beginning a five-day battle in Brooklyn, New York, for a guaranteed spot in the 2017 NCAA tournament field.

[Featured Image by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]

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