The ACC tournament starts on Tuesday with plenty of intrigue.
Can anyone compete with Duke? Will the ACC produce more than three NCAA tournament teams? Can North Carolina salvage a disappointing season and secure an NCAA bid?
Here’s what to know about and what to watch for at the ACC tournament:
3 storylines to watch
Will Duke dominate ACC tournament like it did regular season?
So far, so good for the season of Cooper Flagg. The freshman phenom and presumptive No. 1 NBA Draft pick has lived up to the enormous hype that he arrived with in Durham in a dominant season that will go down as one of the best for a freshman in Duke and ACC history.
And he's not alone. A supporting cast featuring fellow NBA prospects Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel has helped power Duke to a dominant 19-1 run through ACC play and the nation's largest scoring margin (22.1 points per game). It's Duke and everyone else in Charlotte.
Can Clemson or Louisville challenge Duke?
In a down year for the ACC, Clemson and Louisville are the only NCAA tournament locks outside of Duke. Clemson handed Duke its only ACC defeat of the season in a 77-71 win at home on Feb. 8. Duke beat Louisville on the road, 76-65 in their only meeting on Dec. 8. Can either mount a challenge to the Blue Devils in the ACC tournament?
Will North Carolina play its way into the NCAA tournament?
It's been a disappointing campaign for North Carolina, which started the season as the nation's No. 9 team, but enters the ACC tournament on the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble. The Tar Heels finished strong by beating up ACC bottom-dwellers in a six game winning streak before Saturday's loss to Duke. They'll need to impress this week to advance to the NCAA tournament.
ACC tournament bracket
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How to watch the ACC tournament
All times ET
When: March 11-15
Where: Spectrum Center | Charlotte
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network
Game Schedule:
Tuesday March 11: First round
Game 1: No. 13 Pittsburgh vs. No. 12 Notre Dame — 2 p.m. | ACC Network
Game 2: No. 15 California vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech — 4:30 p.m. | ACC Network
Game 3: No. 14 Syracuse vs. No. 11 Florida State — 7. p.m. | ACC Network
Wednesday, March 12: Second round
Game 4: No. 9 Virginia vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech — noon | ESPN
Game 5: No. 5 North Carolina vs. Game 1 winner — 2:30 | ESPN
Game 6: No. 7 Stanford vs. Game 2 winner — 7 p.m. | ESPN 2 or ESPNU
Game 7: No. 6 SMU vs. Game 3 winner — 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2 or ESPNU
Thursday, March 13: Quarterfinals
Game 8: No. 1 Duke vs. Game 4 winner — noon | ESPN or ESPN2
Game 9: No. 4 Wake Forest vs. Game 5 winner — 2:30 | ESPN or ESPN2
Game 10: No. 2 Louisville vs. Game 6 winner — 7 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2
Game 11: No. 3 Clemson vs. Game 7 winner — 9:30 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2
Friday, March 14: Semifinals
Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner - 7 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2
Game 13 Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner — 9:30 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN 2
Saturday, March 15: Championship game
Game 12 winner vs. Game 13 winner — 8:30 p.m. | ESPN
