What you need to know about every ACC team heading into the tournament

No. 1 North Carolina

Record: 26-6 overall, 14-4 ACC

Coach: Roy Williams (21-10 ACC tournament)

ACC championships (18): 2016, 2008, 2007, 1998, 1997, 1994, 1991, 1989, 1982, 1981, 1979, 1977, 1975, 1972, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1957

Key player: junior guard Joel Berry (15.1 ppg, 3.7 apg)

Key question: Can the Tar Heels take their show on the road?

Plus: Roy Williams has turned UNC into a super-sized version of Brad Stevens’ best Butler teams (the ones that made back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2010 and ’11). While other programs chase transfers, one-and-dones and never-weres, UNC has an unflappable, experienced group that understands how to win.

Minus: All of UNC’s best wins — Louisville, Duke, Florida State, Virginia — were in Chapel Hill. There’s no shame in losing at Duke, at Virginia or to Kentucky (at a neutral site) but the best teams are able to win away from home in March.

Bottom line: UNC has the most complete team and it is a group that is clearly motivated by last year’s unbelievably difficult loss in the national title game. If the Heels get by Syracuse on Thursday, in what will be a pro-Orange crowd in Brooklyn, they’ll win their second straight ACC title.

No. 2 Florida State

Record: 24-7 overall, 12-6 ACC

Coach: Leonard Hamilton (10-13 ACC tournament)

ACC championships (1): 2012

Key player: Jonathan Isaac (12.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg)

Key question: Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing?

Plus: Nobody rolls deeper than the Seminoles, with 10 players who average double-digit minutes. Leonard Hamilton, known for his substitution roulette, used 12 players at Duke on Feb. 28. That’s not a November home game with Presbyterian where the walk-ons get a little burn, that’s a late-season matchup between top 20 teams.

Minus: FSU’s top-end talent — guard Dwayne Bacon, guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes and forward Jonathan Isaac — needs to be on the floor more. Depth is great but in college basketball it’s not exactly a necessity.

Bottom line: The Noles are absolutely good enough to win Hamilton’s second ACC title (2012). They have a great draw on the bottom half of the bracket (No UNC, Duke or Louisville). But since a 60-58 win at Virginia on Dec. 31, the Noles are just 2-6 away from home against ACC foes. Unfortunately for FSU, Tallahassee is not the sixth borough of New York.

No. 3 Notre Dame

Record: 23-8 overall, 12-6 ACC

Coach: Mike Brey (4-2 ACC tournament)

ACC championships (1): 2015

Key player: V.J. Beachem (15.4 ppg, 3.9 apg)

Key question: Do you believe in magic?

Plus: Nobody plays a more appealing style of basketball than the Fighting Irish, at least on the college level. Mike Brey’s group is Golden State Lite with its passing and understanding of where everyone is supposed to be on the floor. The Irish even have their own do-it-all forward, a la Draymond Green (minus the kicking antics), in junior forward Bonzie Colson (17.0 ppg, 10.4 rpg).

Minus: Notre Dame can turn its negative (lack of size, rebounding) into an advantage by spreading the floor on offense, but the Irish can be had on defense. Size bothers them (Colson is listed at 6-5 and he’s their primary big), to a point.

Bottom line: What Brey has done this season, after losing Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste, is nothing short of magic. On paper, there’s no logical reason for them to be 12-6 in the ACC with wins over super-sized teams like Florida State or Louisville. Yet this group defies logic and they are on the right side of the bracket to make a run.

No. 4 Louisville

Record: 24-7 overall, 12-6 ACC

Coach: Rick Pitino (0-1 ACC tournament)

ACC championships: none

Key player: sophomore guard Deng Adel (11.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg)

Key question: Can the Cardinals score enough to win their first ACC title?

Plus: The Cardinals have depth and size and really understand how to play team defense. They have blocked a lot of shots (169) and All-ACC guard Donovan Mitchell leads the ACC in steals. Mitchell’s game has taken a leap (15.9 ppg) in his sophomore season.

Minus: While Mitchell has upped his game, sophomore wing Deng Adel and sophomore forward Ray Spalding haven’t quite put it all together and they’re too talented not to help more, especially on the offensive end.

Bottom line: Louisville’s like one of those old Nebraska football teams. Man, they only do one thing but they do it really well. The Cards are good enough defensively to win the tournament but they’re going to need Adel, junior guard Quentin Snider and one of their bigs (Mangok Mathiang?) to run through Duke, Carolina and whichever team emerges from the bottom half of the bracket.

No. 5 Duke

Record: 23-8 overall, 11-7 ACC

Coach: Mike Krzyzewski (57-22 ACC tournament)

ACC championships (19): 2011, 2010, 2009, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1992, 1988, 1986, 1980, 1978, 1966, 1964, 1963, 1960

Key player: junior guard Grayson Allen (14.5 ppg, 3.6 apg)

Key question: Can Duke become the first team to ever win four games in the same ACC tournament?

Plus: Duke has the best lineup, A to Z, of any team in the country. That’s the reason they were the preseason No. 1 team. And when Luke Kennard, Grayson Allen and Jayson Tatum are all going, forget it.

Minus: There is a difference between a collection of talent and a team. So while Duke leads the league in talent, the Devils are behind UNC, Notre Dame and Virginia when it comes to the team concept. That’s not anyone’s fault, rather a function of trying to make one-and-dones work.

Bottom line: There was a time when Mike Krzyzewski would have sawed off a limb to win this tournament. He’s the only coach ever to win five in a row. That was a different time. Given the constant flux in Duke’s health, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Krzyzewski had his team rest for what he called on Saturday, the “big” tournament.

No. 6 Virginia

Record: 21-9 overall, 11-7 ACC

Coach: Tony Bennett (7-6 ACC tournament)

ACC championships (2): 2014, 1976

Key player: freshman guard Kyle Guy (7.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg)

Key question: Can the Wahoos bring the rest of the ACC down to their level?

Plus: Virginia defends like no other team. Not even Louisville can hold a candle to Tony Bennett’s crew when it comes to team defense. UVA leads the country in scoring defense, allowing only 54.9 points per game. The Hoos take care of the ball and they don’t foul.

Minus: UVA ranks 309th out of 351 teams in scoring offense (66.6 points per game). Bennett’s other teams didn’t burn it up and down the floor but they had the ability to score more and had more talent. This group is one or two options short of what it needs to be.

Bottom line: The Wahoos have a great draw, with a likely path of Georgia Tech/Notre Dame/FSU to the title game. As they proved in their 53-43 home win over UNC on Feb. 27, they can muck it up with anyone. The question here is can they do it for three games?

No. 7 Virginia Tech

Record: 21-9 overall, 10-8 ACC

Coach: Buzz Williams (2-2 ACC tournament)

ACC championships: none

Key player: junior guard Ty Outlaw (5.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg)

Key question: Anybody in maroon-and-white want to defend?

Plus: The Hokies’ success in Buzz Williams’ third season comes down to pure math: 3 > 2. They made an ACC-best 40.5 percent of their 3-pointers (265 of 654) in the regular season. Justin Bibbs (61) and Ahmed Hill (58) both have a pure stroke.

Minus: The Hokies are not great on defense. When those 3s aren’t falling, it can get sideways quickly. Half of their eight conference losses were by 15 points or more.

Bottom line: Here’s the wild card of the tournament. The Hokies are good enough to catch a heater and run the table. Or they could get bounced by Wake Forest in their first game. Either way, it will likely be exciting.

No. 8 Syracuse

Record: 18-13 overall, 10-8 ACC

Coach: Jim Boeheim (0-2 ACC tournament)

ACC championships: none

Key player: senior guard John Gillon (11.0 ppg, 5.5 apg)

Key question: Is Syracuse as good at Barclays Center as it is at Madison Square Garden?

Plus: Grad transfers Andrew White (17.9 ppg) and John Gillon can fill it up and shoot the Orange to a win over anyone in the field. Gillon had 43 in a win at N.C. State on Feb. 1 (with nine 3s) and White had 40 in Saturday’s 90-61 win over Georgia Tech.

Minus: With all the new parts, Syracuse hasn’t quite meshed on defense. Boeheim still uses the 2-3 zone (which is really like a quarter-court trap) but the guards aren’t good enough up top to create steals and the bigs aren’t quite in the mold of the great rim protectors (Hakim Warrick anyone?) of team’s past.

Bottom line: Syracuse was terrible outside the ACC and then surprisingly good in the league. The Orange knocked off UVA, Duke and FSU at the dome, so they’re capable. It will be odd for teams from North Carolina, used to favorable crowds in Greensboro, to feel so out of place in the ACC tournament. The Orange just might have the right ingredients to pull off an all-time shocker.

No. 9 Miami

Record: 20-10 overall, 10-8 ACC

Coach: Jim Larranaga (7-4 ACC tournament)

ACC championship (1): 2013

Key player: freshman guard Bruce Brown (11.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg)

Key question: Does anybody really want to play Miami?

Plus: The Canes get after on defense and, like all of Jim Larranaga’s teams, play hard and smart. Senior wing Davon Reed can bury 3s and he’s one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.

Minus: Miami’s got a lot of Virginia and Louisville in them. Great D, not a lot of O. Beyond Reed, there’s not a lot of scoring. Junior guard Ja’Quan Newton runs too hot and cold and none of the bigs have emerged.

Bottom line: The Canes took care of UVA, Carolina and Duke, so clearly they are capable of making noise. Unless freshman guard Bruce Brown or versatile sophomore Anthony Lawrence Jr. turn into John Gilchrist, it’s going to be difficult for the Canes to run through the gauntlet of Syracuse, UNC and either Duke or Louisville just to get to Saturday.

No. 10 Wake Forest

Record: 18-12 overall, 9-9 ACC

Coach: Danny Manning (0-2 ACC tournament)

ACC championships (4): 1996, 1995, 1962, 1961

Key player: sophomore guard Bryant Crawford (15.8 ppg, 5.4 apg)

Key question: Can John Collins go full Randolph Childress?

Plus: Sophomore forward John Collins (19.1 ppg) is the best player in the ACC. Any time you have the best player in the field, you have a puncher’s chance. Throw in sophomore guard Bryant Crawford and the Demon Deacons probably win any 2-on-2 format you could cook up.

Minus: There’s not enough beyond Collins and Crawford. Sophomore guard Keyshawn Woods and junior forward Dinos Mitoglou are good in spurts but need to be more consistent. Defensively, this team is closer on the spectrum to N.C. State than Virginia.

Bottom line: Collins has made a leap this year from backup to All-ACC. Randolph Childress’ performance in the 1995 ACC tournament remains the gold standard for carrying a team to an ACC title. It’s easier for a guard, with the ball in their hands all the time, to do such things but it’s not impossible for a big. Collins can just ask Danny Manning for the blueprint.

No. 11 Georgia Tech

Record: 17-14 overall, 8-10 ACC

Coach: Josh Pastner (first ACC tournament)

ACC championships (3): 1993, 1990, 1985

Key player: sophomore forward Quinton Stephens (9.7 ppg, 7.5 apg)

Key question: Does it matter if you lose house money?

Plus: The Yellow Jackets have fully embraced the no-expectations for this season. Josh Pastner, who was voted the league’s coach of the year, has his team playing free and in full “Honey Badger” mode. Freshman Josh Okogie has been a shot of talent to the roster and the improvement of junior forward Ben Lammers is remarkable.

Minus: The Jackets are care-free, and that goes a long way, they’re also short a shooter or two. There’s definitely some smoke-and-mirrors with this roster, which is why Pastner won the award in his first year over Roy Williams.

Bottom line: There isn’t a soul on the planet who could have predicted eight ACC wins for this group in Pastner’s first year. He even joked in the beginning of the season he could win ACC coach of the year with one conference win. So there’s definitely a “Why stop now?” attitude with this team but realistically, there’s only one win to be had in Brooklyn.

No. 12 Clemson

Record: 16-14 overall, 6-12 ACC

Coach: Brad Brownell (2-6 ACC tournament)

ACC championships: none

Key player: senior forward Jaron Blossomgame (17.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg)

Key question: How many close games can you lose in one season?

Plus: The Tigers are still kicking and screaming despite losing seven ACC games by five points or less. It would have been easy to quit but the players haven’t and that’s a credit to Brad Brownell. Senior forward Jaron Blossomgame didn’t quite have the season he had hoped for, after a breakout junior season, but he’s still a threat to pull off an upset or two.

Minus: This is not a great defensive team. Some programs can get away with that but that’s such a part of Brownell’s DNA, it has to be painful for him to experience. And while a few more stops would help, the Tigers also have had terrible luck in close games this season.

Bottom line: Sometimes the breaks don’t go your way. How different is the season if Clemson closes out UNC in its second ACC game of the season? What if the Tigers just split all of those five-point games? Such is the losers’ lament after a season gone wrong. Not that Clemson fans care, they’re still delirious from their first football national title in 35 years.

No. 13 N.C. State

Record: 15-16 overall, 4-14 ACC

Coach: Mark Gottfried (5-4 ACC tournament)

ACC championships (10): 1987, 1983, 1974, 1973, 1970, 1965, 1959, 1956, 1955, 1954

Key player: freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr. (18.5 ppg, 6.3 apg)

Key question: Is seven still N.C. State’s lucky number?

Plus: After floating adrift since Mark Gottfried was fired on Feb. 16, N.C. State can see the end from here. The awkward final weeks haven’t been fair to anyone.

Minus: Defense has been N.C. State’s problem all season. The Wolfpack ranks last in the ACC in scoring defense (79.7 points per game) and 322nd (out of 351 teams) in the NCAA.

Bottom line: Years that end in “7” have typically been good for State. It made the championship game in 2007 and 1997, after long against-all-odds runs, and won its last ACC title in 1987. It would be a true basketball miracle for the Wolfpack to get to Saturday’s title game.

No. 14 Pittsburgh

Record: 15-16 overall, 4-14 ACC

Coach: Kevin Stallings (first ACC tournament)

ACC championships: none

Key player: sophomore guard Cameron Johnson (11.8 ppg, 4.6 apg)

Key question: Is it OK to fire a coach after one year?

Plus: Seniors Michael Young (19.9 ppg) and Jamel Artis (18.4 ppg) will give you buckets for days. Like Notre Dame, the Panthers have the ability to use their versatility and size to create matchup problems for a defense.

Minus: There’s no point guard. It’s really hard to win without a point guard, no matter what Mike Krzyzewski tells you about “position-less” basketball. The Panthers and first-year coach Kevin Stallings haven’t quite meshed, either. The former Vanderbilt coach has called out the players after several losses this season.

Bottom line: Not all marriages work. Pitt’s next athletic director (TBD) will have to decide if Stallings can make it work in the long run. As far as starts go, though, it could not have gone much worse for Stallings this season.

No. 15 Boston College

Record: 9-22 overall, 2-16 ACC

Coach: Jim Christian (1-2 ACC tournament)

ACC championships: none

Key player: sophomore guard Jerome Robinson (18.7 ppg, 3.3 apg)

Key question: When will Boston College be relevant again?

Plus: Two North Carolina products — Jerome Robinson (from Raleigh) and Ky Bowman (from Havelock) — give the Eagles a nice foundation. Throw in BYU transfer Jordan Chatman, who made nine 3-pointers in a loss at Virginia Tech in January, and you have some scorers at least capable of pulling off a surprise.

Minus: Defense is a problem. The Eagles gave up 82.5 points per ACC game and teams shot 49.7 percent against them in league play.

Bottom line: Their first year in the ACC (2006), the Eagles beat Maryland and UNC and played in the championship game (a 78-76 loss to Duke). They reached the NCAA tournament in three of their first four years in the league. That feels like a really long time ago. The program hasn’t had a winning record since 2011. With a new AD coming in, Jim Christian might not make it to Year 4.

This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 4:30 PM with the headline "What you need to know about every ACC team heading into the tournament."