College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

5 questions entering the ACC

College basketball season is almost here!

Between now and Nov. 6th, we’ll take an in-depth look at different conferences around the country.

Today’s focus is on the ACC:

1. Will the ACC have more volume in the 2024 NCAA Tournament than it’s had the past two seasons?
TBD. The ACC has had three teams — Duke, Miami, and North Carolina — advance to the Final Four in the past two seasons, but only 10 teams from the conference during that time have reached the NCAA Tournament. That’s only 33.3 percent of the league. Will we see more teams from the ACC reach the 2024 NCAA Tournament? It depends on what happens at certain programs. This league hasn’t gotten nearly the mileage that it used to out of key brands like Syracuse and Florida State. The Orange — who are entering their first season under Adrian “Red” Autry — are only a combined 33-32 over the past two years. Meanwhile, Florida State has missed the past two NCAA Tournaments and Notre Dame has only heard its name called once on Selection Sunday since 2017. 

2. How good is Duke?
Good enough to win the national title in Jon Scheyer’s second season as a head coach. The Blue Devils return five of their top six scorers — Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach, Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell, and Ryan Young — from last season’s team that won 27 games and the ACC Tournament. That type of player retention is extremely rare given the current landscape of college basketball. Duke’s recruiting class is ranked second nationally according to 247Sports and features four impressive prospects in Jared McCain, Caleb Foster, Sean Stewart, and TJ Power. Arguably the most talented roster in the sport resides in Durham. 

3. Will North Carolina bounce back?
What a difference a year makes. A year ago, the Tar Heels were the No. 1 team in the country after returning four starters from a team that lost to Kansas in the 2022 national title game. Today? They’re one of the biggest questions in college basketball after finishing 20-13 and missing the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina returns two of the best players in the country in veterans R.J. Davis (16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists) and Armando Bacot (15.9 points, 10.4 rebounds), but their supporting cast remains unproven as ancillary pieces in Chapel Hill. A pair of seasoned transfers — Cormac Ryan (Notre Dame) and Harrison Ingram (Stanford) — are projected to be starters while five-star freshman Elliot Cadeau should also make a major impact. On paper, this should be one of the best teams in the sport, but that was also the case a year ago. It’s going to be fascinating to watch the Tar Heels evolve throughout the course of the upcoming season.

4. Is Miami capable of another deep run in March?
Without question. The Hurricanes have cemented themselves as a flagship program in the ACC after an Elite Eight appearance in 2022 and a Final Four berth last season. Another deep run is in the cards. Jim Larranaga returns three starters — Nijel Pack, Norchad Omier, and Wooga Poplar — from last year’s team that won 26 games as well as a key reserve in Bensley Joseph. Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland (13.8 points, 7.4 rebounds) also figures to have a major impact. There’s more than enough in Coral Gables for this program to maintain a strong presence nationally. 

5. Who is the sleeper? 
Florida State. If the Seminoles can remain healthy — and that’s been a big if the past two seasons — they can regain their place as a factor in the ACC. After finishing 9-23 a year ago, Leonard Hamilton has added reinforcements via the transfer portal in Jamir Watkins (VCU), Josh Nickelberry (La Salle), and Primo Spears (Georgetown), who needs an NCAA waiver to play this season since he’s a two-time transfer. Veterans Jalen Warley, Darin Green, Cam Corhen, and Baba Miller all return, with Miller set to take a major step as a sophomore. Cam Fletcher and Brown grad transfer Jaylan Gainey are also both set to return from injuries. The depth is back in Tallahassee — if this team can finally stay healthy. 

Leftovers