Team-by-team breakdown as the 2025 ACC men’s basketball tournament heads to Charlotte
The ACC Tournament returns to Charlotte this week.
Tickets are available through the ACC’s website as the conference brings its men’s basketball tournament back to Spectrum Center for the third time. And this will be the 17th time that the Queen City has hosted the ACC Tournament, which starts Tuesday and culminates with the championship game Saturday night.
Top-seeded Duke is the favorite to win the tournament at -320 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook, followed by No. 2 seed Louisville (+550), No. 3 seed Clemson (+700) and fifth-seeded North Carolina (+3000).
Fans are encouraged to use the Spectrum Center’s ParkMobile page to explore parking options near the arena. Public transportation is available via the Lynx train to the Trade Street Station.
Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the field for the 2025 ACC Tournament in Charlotte:
Duke (28-3, 19-1)
Opening game: Thursday at noon vs. winner of Georgia Tech/Virginia
Top players: Cooper Flagg (19.1 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game), Kon Knueppel (13.7 ppg) and Tyrese Proctor (12 ppg)
Local ties: Recent North Mecklenburg star Isaiah Evans is shooting 44.7% from the field, including 44.4% from 3-point range. Harrisburg native and sophomore guard Caleb Foster currently averages 5.3 ppg.
Louisville (25-6, 18-2)
Opening game: Thursday at 7 p.m. vs. winner of Stanford and Virginia Tech/Cal
Top players: Chucky Hepburn (16.3 ppg, 73 steals), Terrence Edwards Jr. (15.8 ppg), Reyne Smith (13.4 ppg)
Local ties: Head coach Pat Kelsey previously guided Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C., from 2012-2021 before moving onto the College of Charleston and now Louisville. Fayetteville native James Scott, the sophomore forward who averages 7.1 ppg, played under Kelsey in Charleston.
Clemson (26-5, 18-2)
Opening game: Thursday at 9:30 p.m. against winner of SMU and Florida State/Syracuse
Top players: Chase Hunter (16 ppg), Ian Schieffelin (12.9 ppg and 9.3 rpg), Viktor Lakhin (11.6 ppg and 6.4 rpg)
Local ties: Charlotte native and Duke transfer Christian Reeves has played in 26 games in his first season at Clemson as a redshirt sophomore.
Wake Forest (21-10, 13-7)
Opening game: Thursday at 2:30 p.m. against winner of North Carolina and Notre Dame/Pitt
Top players: Hunter Sallis (18 ppg), Cameron Hildreth (14.9 ppg), Tre’Von Spillers (9.9 ppg and 7.5 rpg)
Local ties: Salisbury native Juke Harris, a recent Charlotte Observer all-district player, averages 6.1 points per game for Wake as a freshman. Mason Hagedorn, a Charlotte native who played high school ball in West Virginia, is redshirting his freshman season.
North Carolina (20-12, 13-7)
Opening game: Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. against winner of Notre Dame/Pitt
Top players: RJ Davis (17.3 ppg), Ian Jackson (13.3 ppg), Seth Trimble (11.9 ppg and 5.2 rpg)
Local ties: Jae’Lyn Withers, a graduate student who played at North Mecklenburg in Huntersville, is a consistent starter for the Tar Heels. Monroe native Cade Tyson has played in 27 games as a junior in his first year at UNC after the Carmel Christian graduate transferred to Chapel Hill following two seasons at Belmont University. Sophomore Russell Hawkins is from Charlotte and played at Mallard Creek.
SMU (22-9, 13-7)
Opening game: Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. against winner of Florida State/Syracuse
Top players: Boopie Miller (13.4 ppg), Matt Cross (11.9 ppg and 7.8 rpg), Samet Yiğitoğlu (10.4 ppg)
Local ties: Kevin “Boopie” Miller averaged 15.6 ppg at Wake Forest last season.
Stanford (19-12, 11-9)
Opening game: Wednesday at 7 p.m. against winner of Virginia Tech/Cal
Top players: Maxime Raynaud (20.1 ppg and 10.9 rpg), Oziyah Sellers (13.3 ppg), Jaylen Blakes (12.9 ppg and 4.6 assists per game)
Local ties: Graduate student Jaylen Blakes spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Duke.
Georgia Tech (16-15, 10-10)
Opening game: Wednesday at noon against Virginia
Top players: Lance Terry (15 ppg, 33 steals), Baye Ndongo (13.6 ppg and 9.1 rpg), Naithan George (12.4 ppg)
Local ties: Terry previously played three seasons at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs. Redshirt junior Duncan Powell played his first two seasons at North Carolina A&T.
Virginia (15-6, 8-12)
Opening game: Wednesday at noon against Georgia Tech
Top players: Isaac McKneely (14 ppg), Elijah Saunders (10.5 ppg) and Andrew Rohde (9.4 ppg and 4.4 apg)
Local ties: Sophomore big man TJ Power is in his first season at UVA after transferring from Duke. Forward Anthony Robinson played high school ball at the Christ School in Buncombe County and won the 2023 NCISAA championship.
Virginia Tech (13-18, 8-12)
Opening game: Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Cal
Top players: Tobi Lawal (12.2 ppg and 6.8 rpg), Mylyjael Poteat (9.3 ppg), Jaden Schutt (8 ppg)
Local ties: Poteat, a Reidsville native, was an all-state player at The Burlington School. Senior forward Ben Burnham is from Fort Mill, S.C., and previously played at Carmel Christian and College of Charleston. Redshirt sophomore center Patrick Wessler grew up in Matthews and attended Combine Academy.
Florida State (17-14, 8-12)
Opening game: Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Syracuse
Top players: Jamir Watkins (18.5 ppg), Malique Ewan (14.4 ppg and 7.8 rpg), Daquan Davis (8.7 ppg)
Local ties: Head coach Leonard Hamilton, a Gastonia native, was a top scorer on strong Gaston College basketball teams in the 1960s.
Notre Dame (14-17, 8-12)
Opening game: Tuesday at 2 p.m. against Pitt
Top players: Markus Burton (22.2 ppg and 1.54 steals per game), Tae Davis (15.4 ppg and 5.4 rpg) and Braeden Shrewsberry (14 ppg)
Local ties: Recent Myers Park star Sir Mohammed has played in 21 games and made eight starts as a true freshman at Notre Dame.
Pitt (17-14, 8-12)
Opening game: Tuesday at 2 p.m. against Notre Dame
Top players: Jaland Lowe (16.8 ppg), Ishmael Leggett (16.1 ppg), Zack Austin (9.3 ppg and 1.7 blocks per game).
Local ties: Austin, a Winston-Salem native, transferred to Pitt from High Point.
Syracuse (13-18, 7-13)
Opening game: Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Florida State
Top players: J.J. Starling (17.5 ppg), Eddie Lampkin Jr. (11.6 ppg and 9.6 rpg), Chris Bell (9.7 ppg)
Local ties: Raleigh native and former Wake Forest player Lucas Taylor is the only player from the Carolinas currently on the Orange’s roster, but current Myers Park star Sadiq White is committed to play at Syracuse next year.
Cal (13-18, 6-14)
Opening game: Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Virginia Tech
Top players: Andrej Stojakovic (16.8 ppg), Jeremiah Wilkinson (15.4 ppg), Mady Sissoko (8.1 ppg and 8.1 rpg)
Local ties: Junior guard DeJuan “DJ” Campbell played two seasons at Western Carolina.
This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Team-by-team breakdown as the 2025 ACC men’s basketball tournament heads to Charlotte."
