Countdown | Will ’22 ACC Tourneys Warm Hopeful Teams?

Countdown

The countdown to the 2022 ACC men’s and women’s basketball tournaments is much closer than you might have thought. The ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Greensboro runs March 2-6. A few days after the women finish the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held at the Barclay’s Center in New York. In true conference style a handful of teams are beginning to hit their strides which promises fireworks at each event.

Will these same teams maintain convert that late-season energy into important conference tournament wins? Can they cash in those same chips for spots in the NCAA Tournaments? First things first. Let’s talk about the teams that are holding spots in the latest AP Top 25 polls.

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AP Top 25 – ACC Men & Women

MEN RANKTEAMWOMEN RANKTEAM
#1GONZAGA#1SOUTH CAROLINA
#2AUBURN#2STANFORD
#3ARIZONA#3LOUISVILLE
#4KENTUCKY#4NC STATE
#5PURDUE#5INDIANA
#9DUKE#16GEORGIA TECH
RV#19NOTRE DAME
#32NOTRE DAME#23VIRGINIA TECH
#35VIRGINIA#24NORTH CAROLINA
#36MIAMI––
#43WAKE FOREST––

ACC Men

A question that will have multiple answers (and are any right or wrong?) concerns men’s basketball. Has Duke fallen off or are the teams that have had success against the Blue Devils simply getting better? The answer always falls somewhere in the middle. We’ll have more of a definitive answer in a few weeks as we see who pulls away from the crowd with solid performances in the tournament.

The sole ACC team in the Top 25 (and for most of the season) Duke, slips a couple of spots but still is in the top 10. Will that slide have any impact on their seeding among brackets? Wake Forest also slips as they lose a number of voters this week but still remain in the Receiving Votes category.

Who’s up? Notre Dame leaps to No. 32, Virginia is powering their way up the ladder as well and sit at No.35 and are followed closely by Miami at No. 36.

When it comes to the latest standings here are the top 5 – Duke, Notre Dame, Miami, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

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What teams are getting bracket love? Duke, Notre Dame, Miami, Wake Forest and North Carolina. Yes, Virginia, you’ve been left out but this thing called a tournament may be your golden ticket to visit Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Ideally, you’ll not want to emulate Veruca Salt but rather shoot for being Charlie Bucket in the conference tournament.

ACC Women

How are things going with ACC women’s basketball? Quite nicely, thank you. When it comes to the top conference team in the poll, that would be Louisville. But when it comes to standings, here are the top 5 – NC State, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame.

The Wolfpack find their way back to No. 4 with a one notch move this week right behind Louisville. It’s a bit rougher in the rankings for the majority of ACC teams though. Georgia Tech takes a hit losing five places and falling to No. 16. Notre Dame and North Carolina slip just one while Virginia Tech moves from the Receiving Votes category to No. 23.

Let’s talk bracket action. It would take a major flub in the ACC Tournament for either NC State or Louisville to lose what appears to be a lock as No. 1 seeds. Who else is in the mix? Notre Dame is No. 4, Georgia Tech No. 5, Virginia Tech and North Carolina No. 6 seeds, Duke No. 10 and Boston College is a Last 4 In candidate at No. 11.

Having some down games this close to the tournament should be a bit of a worry for each team’s respective coaches. There is a need to re-energize and get players into a positive state of mind over the next two weeks. That countdown to the conference tournament is looming large.

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