ACC Tournament 2021: Schedule, Start Times, Live Stream and TV Info
The field is set for the 2021 men's ACC basketball tournament.
Seedings and bracket positions were locked up over the weekend, with 2018 tourney champ Virginia securing the No. 1 spot. Florida State, which last took home the hardware in 2012, slotted in at No. 2, while third-seeded Virginia Tech and fourth-seeded Georgia Tech locked up the other two double-bye tickets into Thursday's quarterfinals.
Absent from this group, of course, are Duke (tournament champs in 2017 and 2019) and North Carolina (2015 and 2016). The Blue Devils landed all the way down at No. 10, their lowest seed in ACC tournament history, while the Tar Heels checked in at No. 6.
After laying out the schedule and broadcast information, we will break down the field and spotlight a few players to track throughout the tournament, which opens Tuesday at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina.
Bracket, Schedule and Broadcast Information
Tuesday, March 9
First Round
No. 12 Pittsburgh vs. No. 13 Miami, 2 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
No. 10 Duke vs. No. 15 Boston College, 4:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Wake Forest, 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
Wednesday, March 10
Second Round
No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 9 NC State, noon ET (ACC Network)
No. 5 Clemson vs. Pitt-Miami winner, 2:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
No. 7 Louisville vs. Duke-Boston College winner, 6:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
No. 6 North Carolina vs. Notre Dame-Wake Forest winner, 9 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
Thursday, March 11
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Virginia vs. Wednesday noon winner, noon ET (ESPN or ESPN2)
No. 4 Georgia Tech vs. Wednesday 2:30 p.m. winner, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN or ESPN2)
No. 2 Florida State vs. Wednesday 6:30 p.m. winner, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN or ESPN2)
No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. Wednesday 9 p.m. winner, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN or ESPN2)
Friday, March 12
Semifinals
Thursday afternoon winners, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN or ESPN2)
Thursday evening winners, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN or ESPN2)
Saturday, March 13
Championship
Semifinal winners, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
All games available for streaming via ACC Network.
Tournament Predictions
Given their lose-and-you're-out format, all conference tournaments have a certain degree of unpredictability. When this event was held in 2019, neither of the top two seeds made the championship round, when the third-seeded Blue Devils held off the fourth-seeded Seminoles.
So if you want to call for an out-of-left-field, bold prediction, this is the time to do it.
That's not our style, though. We're aiming more for accuracy than hot-take degrees, which makes it hard to move away from the juggernauts.
Virginia is ranked 12th nationally at KenPom.com. Florida State is two spots below. The conference doesn't have another top-30 team, although Georgia Tech (No. 31) and North Carolina (No. 32) just miss the cut.
Two-way balance is an issue throughout this conference, even at the top. Virginia comes closest to having it, but even then, its 13th-ranked offense is dragged down a bit by its 31st-ranked defense. The split is wider with Florida State, which lands 10th on offense but just 47th on defense. Duke has one of the best attacks in the conference (16th), but it torpedoes at the defensive end (99th).
That means everyone is vulnerable to some degree, but our crystal ball sees chalk mostly prevailing. Upsets could come in the early rounds and perhaps occur in the quarterfinals, as the No. 6 Tar Heels look particularly frisky. They closed out the season with four wins in six outings, including an eight-point triumph over the Seminoles.
But trusting the full resume is always a safe (and usually smart) play this time of year, and that's where Virginia and Florida State separate from the field.
Should the top seeds lock horns in the title game, the Cavaliers would be out for revenge after losing 81-60 to the Seminoles in their only regular-season matchup. But Florida State, the conference leader in points per game (79.6) and second-best team in three-point shooting (38.5), has the firepower to take down Virginia again.
Players to Watch
Scottie Barnes, Florida State
The top 2021 NBA draft prospect in this tournament, per B/R's Jonathan Wasserman, Scottie Barnes has excited big league scouts with defensive versatility and unique playmaking prowess.
The 6'9" swingman paced the Seminoles in assists (4.3, fifth-best in the ACC), and as Wasserman noted, he is "the only college player 6'8" or taller with an assist percentage above 30.0 percent and steal percentage of at least 2.5 percent."
Justin Champagnie, Pitt
The sophomore forward was the conference's only player to average a double-double, and he hit those marks at impressive volume.
Justin Champagnie's 18.4 points per game trailed only the 18.7 averaged by Duke's Matthew Hurt, and his 11.1 rebounds led the conference by a mile. No other ACC player averaged even nine boards per game.
Sam Hauser, Virginia
A rock-solid contributor throughout the campaign, Sam Hauser is hitting the ACC tournament on a high note.
The senior forward has been toying with opposing defenses of late. Over his past four contests, Hauser averaged 20.5 points on 55.6 percent shooting overall and 46.7 percent from three.
Matthew Hurt, Duke
Matthew Hurt has forced his way onto NBA radars with some recent offensive outbursts. He cracked the top 50 on Wasserman's latest big board (46th, to be precise).
Duke's sophomore forward effectively locked up the scoring crown when he put up 37 points (on 15-of-21 shooting) against Louisville on Feb. 27. It was his 10th outing with 20-plus points.
Moses Wright, Georgia Tech
As far as award-voters were concerned, there wasn't a better player in the ACC this season than Moses Wright. The senior forward was named ACC Player of the Year on Monday, making him just the second Yellow Jacket to earn the honor after Dennis Scott in 1990.
Wright was third in the conference in scoring (18.0), third in rebounds (8.1) and sixth in blocks (1.65). In three of his final four outings, he had at least 26 points and double-digit rebounds.