ACC Tournament Preview: The best tournament ever?

I’ve never been more excited for an ACC Tournament. With five teams in the Top 20 of the national polls, three other teams playing for at-large berths, and the bottom half of the conference playing good basketball of late, and the big games moving to prime on Friday and Saturday, the 2015 ACC Tournament could be among the best ever.

Favorite: Duke Duke is clearly the hottest team in the ACC right now, having won 11 straight after a brief mid-ACC season burp, beating UNC twice, and Notre Dame and UVA, in that stretch. The road to the final won’t be easy, with potential matchups with the three teams that beat the Blue Devils potentially standing in their way.

Second choice: Virginia The second hottest team in the conference is 9-2 down the stretch, losing in the final minute to Duke and in the final three seconds to Louisville, most of it without arguably its best player, Justin Anderson, who is possible for a return in Greensboro. The quarterfinal matchup against the Florida State-Clemson winner is favorable, then a likely semifinal against Louisville or UNC, two teams playing well of late. A Duke-UVA final would be an epic clash of styles and tempos.

Watch out for: Notre Dame Nobody is paying attention to the Irish, but considering how well they shoot the ball, they can be a tough out in a tournament setting.

Sleeper: Miami The ‘Canes have an underrated point guard (Angel Rodriguez), and they can play D and rebound. Another tough out in a one-and-done setting.

Pressure cooker Wednesday night: N.C. State and Pitt play at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the second round. The winner adds to their NCAA resume (State may finalize its bid with a win); the loser is either out or rendered at the least extremely nervous counting down the days until Selection Sunday. Miami at 9 p.m. Wednesday gets the winner of Wake Forest-Virginia Tech. The ‘Canes cannot afford a hiccup.

Dream matchups Thursday: N.C. State survives and plays Duke in a rematch of a double-digit Pack win. Notre Dame gets a Miami team that gave the Irish all they could handle in a five-point loss in January. Louisville-UNC … ‘nuff said.

Dream matchups Friday night: UVA vs. a Louisville-UNC winner. Duke vs. Notre Dame or Miami, either one.

Dream final: UVA-Duke. Control vs. aggression.

– Column by Chris Graham