The men’s 2026 ACC tournament is March 10, so let’s take a look at where every team stands heading into the bracket.
The frontrunner
The Duke Blue Devils are once again the front-runner to win the ACC tournament, as they look to repeat as champions for the second straight year and to win their 24th ACC Championship.
The Blue Devils are 29-2 overall on the year and 17-1 in conference and as a result, are ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation in both the AP and coaches polls. The team is well rounded on both sides of the court, scoring 82.9 points per game while also allowing just 62.5 points per game, the second lowest in the nation. This has combined to create the largest scoring margin by a team in the nation with an average margin of +20.
Duke is able to garner this success by playing as a team effectively, sitting in the top 25 of the nation in both assist to turnover ratio with a ratio of 1.66 and assists per game with an average of 17.3 assists per outing.
The Blue Devils also shoot very effectively, hitting on 57.4% of their effective field goals, the 15th best mark in the nation, while also shooting at a collective field goal percentage of 49.64%, the 20th highest percentage in the country.
The team is also exceptional at defending shots, allowing an opponent field goal percentage of just 38.9%, the eighth lowest in the nation, while also allowing an opponent three point percentage of just 30.1%, the 23rd lowest in the country.
On top of all of this, the Blue Devils are an excellent rebounding team, sitting with a rebound average margin of 10, the sixth best mark in the nation, along with an average of 28 defensive rebounds per game, the 12th most in the country.
Of course we can’t talk about Duke without discussing its leader, forward Cameron Boozer. Boozer has terrorized the ACC this year, totaling up 705 points on the year, the second most in the nation, while shooting at an impressive clip of 58.29%. He adds on to this by frequently getting to the charity stripe where he has gotten 167 of his points on the season, the 29th most in the country.
It doesn’t stop there though, as he also rebounds very efficiently as well, averaging 10.5 rebounds an outing, the ninth most in the nation, while averaging 22.7 points per game, meaning that he averages a double-double. That makes sense considering that he has 17 such outings on the season, tied for the ninth most.
Boozer isn’t alone however, as fellow forward Maliq Brown has also contributed with 60 steals on the season, the 42nd most in the nation. Guard Isaiah Evans also helps out, contributing 14.5 points per game at an 86.8% clip from the free throw line.
Contenders
The Virginia Cavaliers are the team that many see as the team who has the best shot to knock Duke off of its throne, and for good reason, as they sit at a 27-4 overall record and a conference record of 15-3. This has resulted in an AP ranking of No. 10.
Virginia, after having a couple of down years in which it was blown out in the First Four during the 2023 season before ending the season with a losing record in 2024, are back and with a vengeance, evidenced by the stat sheet.
Like Duke, the Cavaliers strength comes largely from their team play as displayed by their 16.8 assists per game, the 37th most in the country, assist to turnover ratio of 1.55, the 39th best mark in the nation, and their 28.77 average bench points per game, the 41st most in division one.
However, where Virginia excels the most is in the paint, specifically on defense, as they have the most blocks per game in the nation with an average of 6.2. They also are 13th in the nation in both opponent field goal percentage, which sits at 39.7%, and in rebound margin which sits at eight. This has helped Virginia to allow just 68.3 points per game, the 43rd least in the nation.
Staying on the topic of rebounding, the Cavaliers rebound as a team very well, racking up 40.77 rebounds per game, tied for the 11th most in the country. Most of this actually comes from the offensive however, as they are tied for 14th most in the nation for offensive rebounds per game with an average of 13.48.
The other area that Virginia does well on offense is its three point shooting, as they have averaged 10.1 three balls per game, the 30th most in the country. This combined with their excellent three point shooting defense, allowing an opponent three point percentage of 30.5%. This has combined to help the Cavaliers along to a scoring margin of +12, the 18th best mark in the nation.
Leading Virginia individually has been a good mix of all positions. At the guard position, Dallin Hall and Chance Mallory have run the offense through their passing assist to turnover ratios. Dallin obtained a ratio of 3.27, the 18th best ratio in the nation, while Mallory is tied at 38th in the country with a ratio of 2.84.
At the center position, Ugonna Onyesno and Johann Grünloh have locked down the paint, as Onyesno has racked 80 blocks on the season, tied for fifth most in the country, while Grünloh has the 12th most blocks per game in the nation with an average of 2.35.
Continuing to spread the wealth across all positions, forward Thijs De Ridder has led the team in scoring on the season, putting up 15.9 points per game white also leading the team in rebounds per game with an average of 6.3.
The North Carolina Tar Heels finished the season at No. 19 in the nation in both the AP and coaches poll after finishing the regular season with a 24-7 overall record along with a conference record of 12-6.
Unlike the Blue Devils or the Cavaliers, the Tar Heels have mainly led by one man and that is freshman forward Caleb Wilson. However, Wilson has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after breaking his right thumb in practice, a huge blow to the Tar Heels.
Wilson led the team in scoring with 19.8 points per game, the 35th most in the nation, on a shooting clip of 57.82%, the 33rd highest in the country. Wilson also led North Carolina in every other major statistic including assists with an average of 2.7, steals with an average of 1.5, blocks with 1.4, and rebounds with 9.4, the 22nd highest mark in the nation.
Most of these rebounds have come on the defensive side, averaging the 18th most defensive rebounds per game with 6.58 which has helped to 11 total double-doubles on the season, the 34th most in the country.
Ahead of him however is center Henri Veesaar who is tied for the 19th most double-doubles in the nation with 13. Veesaar has also effectively rebounded on the defensive side of the court, pulling 6.28 defensive boards a game, the 28th most in the nation, while also shooting at a clip of 61.36%, the 20th highest field goal percentage in the country.
This helped the team to sit at 29th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game with an average of 27.3. The team also excels at controlling the ball, sitting with the 24th best assist to turnover ratio in the nation at a ratio of 1.66.
They’re also tied for 14th least fouls per game at 14.5, have the 24th least turnovers per game at 9.6, and are 49th in the country for opponent field goal percentage at 41.6%.
The Louisville Cardinals carried some of their momentum over from last season, when they made the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2018 season, by finishing this year’s regular season inside the top 25. The Cardinals are currently ranked at No. 24 in both the AP and coaches poll after finishing the regular season with an overall record of 22-9 and a conference record of 11-7.
The Cardinals have achieved this by being efficient, making 56.8% of their effective field goals, good for the 18th highest mark in the country, while also shooting at a 77.1% clip from the charity stripe, the 28th highest mark in the nation.
They have also made sure to control the possession of the ball by being efficient on the boards, racking up 38.74 rebounds per game averaging a +5 rebound margin, tied for 35th best in the country. This was mainly achieved at the defensive side of the floor, averaging 27.3 defensive rebounds per game, the 25th most in the nation. Forward Sananda Fru led the way on the boards for Louisville, racking up a team high 6.2 rebounds per game.
However the real star of the show has been the offense which has been run expertly by the entire team which has averaged 85.8 points per game, the 17th most, while averaging a scoring margin of +13, the 16th highest in the country.
This has mainly been due to the distribution of the ball that has resulted in 17.4 assists per game, tied for 20th most in the nation, while being very effective from beyond the arc. The Cardinals average 11.9 three pointers per game, the fourth most in the country.
This onslaught of trifecta has been led by guard Ryan Conwell who has let it fly all season, shooting from beyond the arc 288 times throughout the year, the seventh most in the nation. This has resulted in an average of 3.4 threes per game, the 13th most in the country.
The Miami Hurricanes finished the regular season with an overall record of 24-7 and a conference record of 13-5 but did not finish in the top 25. This could put a bit of a chip on the shoulders of the Hurricanes who head into the ACC tournament as the No. 3 seed.
Miami is another team that works well as a team, along with a couple of standouts. The Hurricanes average 16.6 assists per game, the 43rd most in the country, while also shooting at a clip of 50.56% clip, the tenth best mark in the nation.
They’re also efficient, averaging just 15.4 fouls per game, the 33rd least in the country, while averaging a rebound margin of +8, the 11th best mark in the country. This has helped Miami to score 82.6 points per game, the 47th most, while obtaining a scoring margin of +12, the 21st best in the nation. This fierce rebounding attack is led by center Ernest Uedh Jr. who is tied for the 21st most rebounds per game with an average of 9.4 boards an outing.
The fiery offense is led by forward Malik Reneau who leads the team with 19 points per game with the 29th most field goals in the country with 214 and the 47th most points with 590. Reneau achieves these marks through his very effective shooting, ending the regular season with a field goal percentage of 55.87%.
Alongside Reneau is fellow forward Shelton Henderson who shoots at an even more impressive clip of 56.7%. Guard Tre Donaldson runs the offense at the top of key very well with an assist to turnover ratio of 2.71.
Potential dark horse
The Clemson Tigers finished the season with an overall record of 22-9 and conference record of 12-6. The Tigers started the season 20-4 and 10-1 in conference before falling off a cliff coming down the stretch.
I believe Clemson still has their earlier season selves at their disposal and have a good chance to unlock them come tournament time. This is because I have faith in their ability to play as a team, racking up the 28th most bench points per game with 29.8 while taking care of the ball, turning the ball over just 9.7 times per game, the 29th least in the nation.
Their defense has also been exceptional, holding their opponent to a field goal percentage of just 41.5%, the 45th least in the country. This resulted in an opponent points per game average of just 66.3, the 23rd least in the nation. This was largely due to their excellent work on the boards, allowing just an average of 32 opponent rebounds per game, the third least in the conference.
Looking at the stats, the success that they have had this season, especially earlier on, is really confusing as no player averages over 12 points or three assists. However, after taking a closer look, you can see that the team succeeds through their collective.
Seven players score 6.9 points per game or more, four players average 3.8 rebounds or more, and seven players average 1.1 or more assists per game. So don’t forget about the Tigers of Clemson, as they still very much pose a threat.
Prediction and schedule
Still, I feel that I have to take the Duke Blue Devils to go all the way, as they are ranked No. 1 in the nation for a reason. Game one of the tournament kicks off at 1:00 P.M. on March 10 between Stanford and Pittsburgh before game two begins at 3:30 between SMU and Syracuse. Action continues with game three which starts at 6:00 and will see Virginia Tech take on Wake Forest.