ACC Men's Tournament bracket if the season ended today, Jan. 24

ACC Tournament Bracket: Third-round teams (Double Bye)

(1) North Carolina Tar Heels

After a hugely disappointing season that saw them miss the NCAA Tournament entirely, the Tar Heels have been the class of the conference. Hubert Davis deserves a lot of credit for remaking the Heels, from key transfer portal additions Harrison Ingram, Cormac Ryan, and Jae'Lyn Withers, to freshman pass-first point guard Elliot Cadeau. Carolina is 8-0 in ACC play, and their consistency has helped them rise all the way to #3 in the AP poll. RJ Davis' 21.0 points per game have him firmly in the National Player of the Year race, while graduate senior Armando Bacot has led a defense that has been one of the best in the country. The Heels line up in the bracket against the winner of Virginia Tech and Miami, two teams they've yet to face this year.

(4) N.C. State Wolfpack

With a 5-2 conference record, N.C. State has been one of the better teams in the ACC. Arizona State transfer DJ Horne has been a great addition when he's not flipping off the refs, and the inside-out combo of Horne's 42% rate from three and big man DJ Burns' back-to-the-basket game are tough to stop. Oddly enough, the Wolfpack remind me of last year's Tar Heels, who had that same inside-out ability with Davis and Bacot, but missed the tournament with 20 wins because they lacked a signature victory. The Wolfpack are 0-4 in Quad 1 games, but they'll have a chance to make a statement when they get UNC and Duke back-to-back in the first week of March. The Pack would likely play Wake as the 4-seed, a team they beat at home 83-76 a week ago.

(2) Florida State Seminoles

The Seminoles are on their way to earning the coveted double-bye and a probable date with Syracuse or Clemson. FSU bottomed out with a dreadful 9-23 record last year, but Leonard Hamilton, the longest-tenured coach in the ACC, has turned his team around to become the league's most surprising story. The Seminoles have gotten back to what they've traditionally done best: beat teams by playing tough defense and controlling the paint. Florida State has multiple elite interior finishers, and VCU transfer Jamir Watkins has been a godsend for a team that lacked leadership last year. Florida State has won six of their last seven, and they have a chance to avenge an early December loss to UNC when they host the Tar Heels on Saturday.

(3) Duke Blue Devils

Duke was the consensus preseason pick to win the conference, but unless they can beat UNC twice down the stretch, they'll likely have a tough time making up their current two-game deficit. Kyle Filipowski has lived up to his preseason All-American billing, and senior point guard Jeremy Roach has been the steadying hand this young roster needs, but the Blue Devils have missed the rim protection of Derrick Lively, who has thrived in his NBA rookie season with the Dallas Mavericks. Sophomores Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell have come on of late, a critical development if Duke hopes to make a deep tournament run.