The Atlantic Coast Conference tournament is set to tip off Tuesday evening, opening up with Notre Dame-Georgia Tech at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. North Carolina won the outright regular season title, as they defeated rival Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday to clinch the outright title. North Carolina and Duke could see each other for a third time, as they are the favorites to win the tournament.

Bracket

Favorites

Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia are the favorites to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, all three being the top three seeds coincidently. Duke is led by big man Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach, and Jared McCain. They shoot the three-point shot well at a clip of 38.1%, ranked number 12 in the country. They are careful with the basketball too, supporting 9.4 turnovers per game, which is number 31 in the country. The one knock on them is free-throw percentage and the physicality inside, as Filipowski struggles when that happens.

For North Carolina, they have tons of options including Armando Bacot, RJ Davis, Harrison Ingram, Cormac Ryan, Seth Trimble, and Elliot Cadeau. Davis most likely is the guy they lean on to get a bucket, but any of them could be that guy.

They score at a very high clip, averaging 81 points per game and they can outrebound anyone on the glass with Bacot and Jalen Washington on the boards and box-outs. Cormac Ryan, the transfer from conference foe Notre Dame, has been a great asset, as he is a defensive menace and a three-point specialist. All in all, North Carolina can do it all, and they will go deep in this tournament.

Virginia relies heavily on their defensive efficiency and plays at an unbelievably slow pace of play, the slowest in the country at 362. They have the seventh best defense in the country accompanied by a top 200 offense. They are scoring 63.5 points per game, which is in the bottom half of the Atlantic coast conference.

They cannot shoot the ball well, live and die on the three-point shot, but they do not turn the ball over while sharing the basketball. They live and die on the three and overly rely on their defense. If a team like North Carolina is in their way, Virginia may have to pack their bags early.

Bid Stealers

Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame are all potential bid stealers in this conference tournament. Pittsburgh and Wake Forest are on the bubble, while Notre Dame has shown the ability to beat anyone on any given day. For Pittsburgh, they yet again finished in the top half of the conference, sitting at fifth place overall. They are sort of like Virginia, except for the fact that their offense is not as dull.

They have a top 35 offense and top 60 defense in the country, while playing a slow pace of play. Blake Hinson and Carlton Carrington lead the way for the Panthers, being one of their best three-point shooters and combining for 32.4 points per game. They can beat anyone in the conference, but can also lose to anyone, depends on their offensive production.

Wake Forest on the other hand, can shoot the lights out, at the line, from deep, or from the field. They shoot 37.6% from deep, 80.2% from the foul line, and 47.8% from the field. They can go toe-to-toe with North Carolina’s offense in this tournament if they meet up in the semifinals. They support a top 50 offense and defense, while having a middle of the pack tempo of pace, which is faster than some in the conference. They are a real threat to bid steal.

Notre Dame is a wild card because their record does not show it, but they can definitely bid steal if they win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. They open up as the 12-seed and have beaten Georgia Tech in both meetings, so signs point towards them moving on. They are a young team, so this could be washed away with the inexperience they possess.

They are led by Atlantic Coast Freshman of the year, Markus Burton, who is averaging close to 20 points per game, at 17.3. Aside from Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry, they cannot shoot the three-point shot effectively enough for it to matter. Their greatest strength is rebounding the basketball and shooting the free throw. If Notre Dame gets hot like they did in early February, you could see them in the semifinals Saturday evening with a chance to go the the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.

Betting Odds

North Carolina Tar Heels (+160)

Duke Blue Devils (+180)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+800)

Clemson Tigers (+1000)

Pittsburgh Panthers (+1500)

Virginia Cavaliers (+1600)

Virginia Tech Hokies (+3300)

Syracuse Orange (+5500)

North Carolina State Wolfpack (+6000)

Florida State Seminoles (+7000)

Miami Hurricanes (+9000)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+19000)

Boston College Eagles (+19000)

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+25000)

Louisville Cardinals (+25000)

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