ACC Basketball Season Preview
The ACC is always one of the top conferences in all of college basketball, and this season should be no different. The ACC is always very competitive, and the league is extremely talented and ready to compete for a spot in the NCAA tournament.
The Virginia Cavaliers are the preseason favorite to win the ACC. They are still the defending national champions as the NCAA tournament was cancelled last season.
They return five players who played valuable minutes for a team who boasted the best defense in college basketball a season ago. The Hoos did rank 234th in offense last year, but expect Sam Hauser, the transfer from Marquette, to help improve the offense.
If Virginia can improve on the offense, expect the Hoos to be the frontrunners in the ACC.
Duke is always a top team in college basketball, and this season should be no different. Duke lost Vernon Carey Jr., Tre Jones and Cassius Stanley all to the NBA, but the Blue Devils are reloading with extremely talented freshmen.
Duke brings in the third-ranked recruiting class in the nation, headlined by five-star recruit Jalen Johnson. The freshmen class have huge shoes to fill this season, but Mike Krzyzewski is one of the greatest coaches of all time, and expect the Blue Devils to compete for a national title this season.
North Carolina is another blue blood in college basketball, and the Tar Heels are set up for a bounce back season. The Tar Heels are going to be led by senior forward Garrison Brooks, who averaged 16.8 points per game last season.
The Tar Heels also boasted the second-ranked recruiting class in the country. Their top recruit is point guard Caleb Love, who is tasked with replacing Cole Anthony in the backcourt. Roy Williams has a great team that should be able to get North Carolina back to the top of the ACC and college basketball.
Florida State won the ACC last season, and this year the Seminoles attempt to remain at the top of the conference. The Noles did lose Patrick Williams and Devin Vassell to the NBA Draft, where both were selected in the first round.
Florida State does add star recruit Scottie Barnes, who was ranked as the eighth best recruit in the country and the top power forward in the 2020 class. Leonard Hamilton is emerging as one of the best coaches in college basketball, and should keep the Noles near the top of the ACC this season.
The ACC as a whole is projected to send seven teams to the NCAA Tournament. The four teams above are projected to be joined by Louisville, Syracuse and Miami.
Those three teams are extremely talented and well-coached. They can not only make the tournament, but can make a serious run in the big dance.
Georgia Tech and Clemson are teams that are projected to be on the bubble trying to make a push into the big dance. These teams will need to find signature wins to boost their resume to sneak into the tournament, so expect them to look to try and upset the top teams in the ACC every time they get a chance.
The ACC is always a competitive conference, and all of the teams will look to try and make a push for a potential NCAA Tournament berth and a National Championship.
Adam Sheetz is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.
