Fansided

NCAA basketball: Predicting who wins every major conference tournament

By Mike Phillips

MADISON, WISCONSIN - MARCH 06: Johnny Davis #1 of the Wisconsin Badgers reacts after hitting the first shot of the game during the first half of the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Kohl Center on March 06, 2022 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN - MARCH 06: Johnny Davis #1 of the Wisconsin Badgers reacts after hitting the first shot of the game during the first half of the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Kohl Center on March 06, 2022 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 05: Paolo Banchero #5 of the Duke Blue Devils dribbles against Brady Manek #45 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half of the game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 05, 2022, in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 05: Paolo Banchero #5 of the Duke Blue Devils dribbles against Brady Manek #45 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half of the game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 05, 2022, in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

ACC Tournament predictions

  • Dates: March 8-12
  • Location: Brooklyn, NY
  • Venue: Barclays Center
  • TV: ACC Network (1st Round), ESPN family of networks (2nd Round, QF, SF), ESPN (Final)
  • Top Seed: Duke
  • Bracket

The ACC hasn’t been a stellar league this year but is in position to send five teams to the tournament after North Carolina’s huge upset at Duke on Saturday. The Tar Heels not only spoiled Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game but essentially locked up their ticket to dance in the process.

The top four seeds in the ACC (Duke, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Miami) are projected to make the field now while No. 5 seed Wake Forest would be the fifth entrant. The Demon Deacons could make Miami sweat by knocking out the Hurricanes in the quarterfinals since Miami has the most bubbly resume of the group while Duke awaits the winner of that game in the semifinals.

The bottom of the bracket offers some potential bid thieves in Virginia and Virginia Tech, who have gotten hot down the stretch but need to win the automatic bid thanks to some bad losses earlier in the season. Virginia Tech would face Notre Dame in the semifinals while Virginia could draw North Carolina and an upset on either front could put a bid thief in play from the bottom of the bracket.

In the end, however, this is Duke’s tournament to lose. The Blue Devils will likely be locked in after Saturday’s disappointing loss and it is hard to see anyone beating them in Brooklyn.

Prediction: Duke