ACC Tournament preview: Back to back for Va Tech?

Can Virginia Tech win consecutive ACC Tournament titles? Can Notre Dame or another contender knock them off? ACC Tournament action begins on Wednesday and culminates on Sunday afternoon.

No. 11 Virginia Tech (23-6, 14-4) has their eyes set on winning back-to-back ACC Tournament championships after making history last year with the program’s first tourney title. This season, the Hokies clinched the No. 1 seed and the ACC regular season title for the first time in their history.

For most of the season, the Hokies have looked terrific; however, they have faced tough ACC competition that suggests this tournament will not be an easy one to win. The Hokies are led by two future WNBA players, Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore. Their play styles complement each other very well: a great low post scorer paired with a movement shooter and pick-and-roll ball handler.

While No. 1-seed Virginia Tech doesn’t play until Friday afternoon, the tournament tips off Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET from Greensboro, NC with three games between the six lowest-seeded teams. On Thursday, the winners of Wednesday’s three contests and five other teams will play for a chance to advance to the semifinals. Along with Virginia Tech, NC State (25-5, 13-5), Syracuse (23-6, 13-5) and Notre Dame (23-6, 13-5) earned byes until Friday’s quarterfinals. The first three rounds will be broadcast on ACC Network, with Sunday’s championship game shown on ESPN.

The reason the tournament will be a test for Virginia Tech is because of the other top-seeded teams in the conference. Notre Dame absolutely shut down the Hokies last week by trapping Georgia Amoore in the pick-and-roll. Because she’s only 5-foot-6, the traps were extremely effective, and it isn’t out of the question that teams will use the same approach when facing the Hokies in the tournament.

Such strategies are what makes the ACC Tournament so exciting. Matchups will dictate the results. Essentially, seeding is pointless when it comes to evaluating these games. Expect to enjoy some thrilling battles, coaching adjustments and upsets that make March Madness so iconic.

First- and second-round matchups

On Wednesday, Game 1 begins at 1 p.m. ET, with No. 13-seed Boston College (13-18, 5-13) meeting No. 12-seed Clemson (12-18, 5-13). Last month, the Tigers won a low-scoring affair against the Eagles. The big takeaway from that game was that the Eagles were outscored by 21 points from 3; Boston College finished 0-for-11 from behind the arc in that game and only tallied five assists. For the season, Boston College ranks second to last in the ACC in 3-point percentage. It’s very hard to win that way so if they want to advance, something has to change.

Game 2 is between No. 15-seed Pitt and No. 10-seed Georgia Tech and Game 3 is between No. 14-seed Wake Forest and No. 11-seed Virginia. The matchup between the Demon Deacons and Cavaliers should be the most competitive of the first round. On Thursday, the winner of Game 1 will face No. 5-seed Louisville, while No. 9-seed Miami battles No. 8-seed North Carolina. No. 7-seed Duke will face the winner of Game 2 and No. 6-seed Florida State awaits the winner of Game 3.

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ACC Tournament schedule

All games at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.

First Round — Wednesday, Mar. 6

Game 1: No. 13 Boston College vs. No. 12 Clemson, 1 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Game 2: No. 15 Pitt vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Game 3: No. 14 Wake Forest vs. No. 11 Virginia, 6:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Second Round — Thursday, Mar. 7

Game 4: No. 5 Louisville vs. winner of Game 1, 11 a.m. ET (ACC Network)

Game 5: No. 9 Miami vs. No. 8 North Carolina, 1:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Game 6: No. 7 Duke vs. winner of Game 2, 5 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Game 7: No. 6 Florida State vs. winner of Game 3, 7:30 pm ET (ACC Network)

Third Round — Friday, Mar. 8

Game 8: No. 4 Notre Dame vs. winner of Game 4, 11 a.m. ET (ACC Network)

Game 9: No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. winner of Game 5, 1:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Game 10: No. 2 NC State vs. winner of Game 6, 5 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Game 11: No. 3 Syracuse vs. winner of Game 7, 7:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Semifinals — Saturday, Mar. 9

Game 12: winner of Game 8 vs. winner of Game 9, 12 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Game 13: winner of Game 10 vs. winner of Game 11, 2:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Championship — Sunday, Mar. 10

Game 14: winner of Game 12 vs. winner of Game 13, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)