ACC Basketball Notebook: March Madness Edition

Seven ACC teams – including a record-tying three No. 1 regional seeds – are set for the 2019 NCAA Tournament. ACC champion Duke (29-5) and regular-season co-champions Virginia (29-3) and North Carolina (27-6) were all awarded No. 1 seeds, marking just the second time one conference has landed three spots atop the regional brackets.

The Blue Devils, Cavaliers and Tar Heels are joined by fellow league members Florida State (27-7), Virginia Tech (24-8), Louisville (20-13) and Syracuse (20-13) in this year’s NCAA field.

North Carolina will be a No. 1 seed for an NCAA-leading 17th time. Tthe No. 1 seed is the 14th for Duke and the seventh for Virginia.

In addition to the three No. 1 NCAA Tournament seeds, the ACC becomes the first conference to place the top three teams in the final AP poll with No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Virginia and No. 3 North Carolina.

Florida State placed No. 10 and Virginia Tech No. 16.

Notes

• The ACC’s 40 all-time No. 1 regional seeds leads all conferences. The ACC has been awarded at least one No. 1 seed each of the past six years.
• This marks the sixth time the ACC has placed at least seven teams in the NCAA Tournament field. Nine from the conference earned bids in both 2017 and 2018. Seven ACC teams made the field in 2007, 2009 and 2016.
• League teams have combined to win a record 59 NCAA Tournament games the past four years while placing four teams among the Final Four and claiming two national titles during that span (Duke in 2015 and North Carolina in 2017).
• Among active head coaches with 10 or more NCAA Tournament games, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski ranks first with a winning percentage of .764 (94-29) … North Carolina’s Roy Williams ranks second at .754, having won 77 of his 102 NCAA Tournament games.
• Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams also rank 1-2 in terms of all-time NCAA Tournament wins … the late Dean Smith ranks third with 65 wins at North Carolina, and current Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim is fourth with 56.
• Mike Krzyzewski’s 94 NCAA Tournament wins are not only more than any other coach in history, they are more than all but five teams and eight conferences all-time in NCAA play.
• North Carolina ranks second all-time in NCAA Tournament history with 124 wins … Duke (111), Syracuse (68) and Louisville (61) rank third, sixth and ninth respectively.
• Since 1985, 49 percent of ACC teams receiving NCAA Tournament bids have reached the Sweet 16 (90 of 185 heading into this year’s tournament).
• First-team All Americans RJ Barrett (22.9) and Zion Williamson (22.1) of Duke are the ACC’s two leading scorers and looking to become the first freshmen teammates in NCAA history to each average 20 points in a season … Williamson is the first freshman in ACC history to be named the league’s Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in the same season.
• Virginia is a No. 1 NCAA Regional seed for the seventh time overall and the fourth time in the last six seasons under current head coach Tony Bennett, a finalist for the USBWA’s Henry Iba Award.
• Florida State, which has matched the school record for wins with 27, is back in the NCAA Tournament field for the third consecutive year and the seventh time in 11 years under current head coach Leonard Hamilton.