Brownlow's GIFs: Team-by-team ACC Tournament outlook
Posted March 8, 2022 1:11 p.m. EST
Updated March 8, 2022 2:44 p.m. EST
The ACC Tournament is going down in Brooklyn on a Tuesday, and there's no better day than an ACC Tournament Tuesday that pits the worst six teams in the league against one another than to use GIFs as my language of analysis. I'll use some real words, too, but sometimes a GIF is worth a thousand of them. But I'll take a look at the ACC Tournament on a team-by-team basis and sum up each team's Tournament outlook with a GIF. So here we go!
TUESDAY'S TANTALIZING TEAMS
NO. 15 NC STATE (11-20)
Path to a title
Um....winning four games in four days in spite of not having won more than three games in a row all season and having won just four games total in 2022?
I actually don't hate NC State's side of the bracket, in theory. They match up all right with Virginia Tech since the Hokies also lack size, and they were close with Notre Dame for at least a half on the road not long ago. But Clemson is a matchup I don't even think they get past. And as hard as the Wolfpack fought most of the season, they didn't seem to have a whole lot of fight left in them as the season closed out.
Outlook
NO. 14 GEORGIA TECH (12-19)
Path to a title
Well, if Josh Pastner really is magical and has learned a way to live forever, maybe he can figure out some sort of magic spell? I'm just spitballing here. But seriously, Georgia Tech has one win over a Ken Pom top-100 team all year. We're done here.
Outlook
NO. 13 BOSTON COLLEGE (11-19)
Path to a title
Hire Al Skinner again. I'm kidding. I mean, I'm not kidding. But Earl Grant might be fine. It's his first season. The Eagles have some talent on that roster. It wouldn't completely stun me if they won two games. They're not winning more than that, though. And it would be a brutal blow to Wake Forest's NCAA Tournament hopes, which would track with this ACC season. But the team everyone always forgets is in the league will be quickly forgotten in Brooklyn, too.
Outlook
NO. 12 PITTSBURGH (11-20)
Path to a title
Pitt did improve down the stretch of this season, especially when Ithiel Horton got healthy. This team did beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill. But it proceeded to lose four in a row, the last three by double digits and the first to a bad Georgia Tech team. Again, two games is the max Pitt wins here.
Outlook
NO. 11 LOUISVILLE (12-18)
Path to a title
Louisville has won two of its last 16 games. The Cardinals have talent and have fought hard (see the loss at UNC, the loss to Virginia). I suppose Louisville could win its first game, then finally topple Virginia and UNC, the latter of which it played two very close games against this season. But please go all the way up to the first sentence of this paragraph.
Outlook
NO. 10 CLEMSON (16-15)
Path to a title
The Fightin' Brownells won their final four games just to get above .500 and make their way UP to a 10-seed in this event, which, whew. Clemson is getting healthy at a good time and will play an NC State team that gave them fits in Raleigh, but that was back in early January. Clemson can absolutely beat both Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. Then they'd face a UNC team that they probably should have found a way to beat at home in their only meeting this season. And then whoever comes out of the top half of the bracket. So ... I guess crazier things have happened? But it's still obviously not likely.
Outlook
WEDNESDAY'S WONDERS
NO. 9 SYRACUSE (15-16)
Path to a title
You think Jim Boeheim wants to finish a season under .500? I don't. I'm also not sure he'll have much say in the matter. Because even if the Orange get past Florida State in Game 1, they'll have Duke waiting for them. Duke, in case you forgot, beat Syracuse by a combined 1,000 points in two meetings this year. Not really, but it felt like it. But let's say this Duke team is still reeling and Syracuse pulls the upset. Can they beat Miami? Sure. They were swept by the Hurricanes by a combined four points this season. Can they beat Wake Forest? Well they did by 22 at home, and they lost the first meeting by three in overtime on the road. So the answer to all that is yes, but will they do it on their third straight day? And if they do that, will they have the energy to win another game on the fourth day? Eh.
Outlook
NO. 8 FLORIDA STATE (17-13)
Path to a title
Florida State is getting healthier at a good time and won three straight games to finish out the season, including a win at Virginia and a win over Notre Dame. So we know that FSU can beat the top teams in the league. But Duke is a tough ask in Game 1. Just like for Syracuse, though, they'll have to hope that Duke is still a little shaken up from last Saturday. They're healthier than when they beat Duke at Cameron, though, and they have the athleticism to hang with the Blue Devils. So they could be ready to make a run. I still think even if they win on Wednesday and Thursday, the magic runs out by Friday and certainly by Saturday. But I give them a far better chance than I would have even two weeks ago.
Outlook
NO. 7 VIRGINIA TECH (19-12)
Path to a title
Carolina winning at Duke on Saturday was a bit of a blow to the Hokies' title chances, in my opinion, as that's not a good matchup for them. They split games against Clemson and Notre Dame this year (their likely first two opponents) and so let's say they win both. Then they're likely to get North Carolina. But if Virginia is able to upset the Tar Heels, they did beat Virginia at home nearly a month ago and can absolutely do it again. Then, who knows? Definitely a chance, and they could use a few more wins for NCAA Tournament purposes. Mike Young is an excellent coach. Put nothing past him.
Outlook
NO. 6 VIRGINIA (18-12)
Path to a title
I mean, I think the version of Virginia we saw the last month of the season could beat North Carolina, especially if the Tar Heels have a letdown after the Duke win (which would be understandable). They're more than capable of beating Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, and even Duke, should it come to that. I don't think there's a team in this Tournament that they can't beat. But there also isn't a team that the Cavaliers can't lose to, at least not one that they're likely to see. Still, just like with Mike Young, Tony Bennett knows what he's doing and he thrives in the ACC Tournament. They're as likely to make a run as anyone.
Outlook
NO. 5 WAKE FOREST (23-8)
Path to a title
I want to trust Wake Forest to not completely blow up their NCAA Tournament hopes and lose their first game. I think that I do. I want to trust Wake Forest to finally get over the hump in a third meeting against Miami in the quarterfinals. I almost do. But do I then trust Wake Forest to beat Duke (assuming it is Duke) in the semis? Not really. But if Wake gets that far, who knows? And the Deacs can beat anyone that comes out of the other side of the bracket, too. They've certainly got a shot at it. I only wish this were in Greensboro because people could have seen Wake fans in their natural habitat and potentially facing off against TWO in-state opponents, angry as ever. It's beautiful. Love you, Wake fans.
Outlook
TOP-TEAM THURSDAY
NO. 4 MIAMI (22-9)
Path to a title
Pretty good one for the Hurricanes, really. The double bye is great. They swept Wake Forest this season and would likely get them in the quarterfinals, then they may or may not get Duke, a team they also already beat this season. They lost their only meeting with Notre Dame this year, but it was a close game. They also got swept by Virginia, but they beat the crap out of North Carolina. They can beat any of those teams. But do we really think if they get Duke in the semifinals that they win? I mean ... I don't.
Outlook
NO. 3 NORTH CAROLINA (23-8)
Path to a title
The Tar Heels' win on Saturday not only was big because of the obvious reasons, but it was also big because it put them in a bracket that avoids Duke until the championship game. They get teams they match up with a little better — Virginia, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech — than in the top half (Miami, Wake Forest and Duke). The key here is avoiding a letdown. That is ... going to be a very tough ask, right? Human nature is what it is. But the Tar Heels can overcome a rough start to a game. They'll just have to figure out a way to get past Game 1. If they do that, I love their chances to get to a title game. I somehow do not think they beat Duke again in that scenario though, but I was literally just wrong about that so maybe it's time to be quiet. Also, they still just beat Duke in Coach K's last game and are already in the NCAA Tournament. They'll be fine either way.
Outlook
NO. 2 NOTRE DAME (22-9)
Path to a title
I really, really, REALLY want to trust the Irish. I don't know why their loss to Florida State bothers me so much more than any other top team's slipups. But it does. And as much as I love the Irish, they just don't often blow teams out, which leaves them very little margin for error. And they're not a super deep team either. But Mike Brey and his team have found success at this event before when they have good teams. And they can beat anyone in this field except for Duke, which I think is an awful matchup for them. So, they'd need Duke to get upset. But they could make a run to Saturday easily.
Outlook
NO. 1 DUKE (26-5)
Path to a title
Well, Duke is out of its own building, which should be great for them. I'm not joking. Duke has been much better out of Cameron than in it this year, and especially lately. The question is, how does this team digest what happened on Saturday? How do they respond? Did it break them, or do they bounce back? And does the bounce-back last, or if things get tough, do they revert?
Assuming they're all right mentally, their first game could be against an FSU team that is getting healthier (and that did beat them earlier this season, many injuries ago). Their second game could be against Miami, a team that beat them far earlier in the season, or against Wake Forest, a team that Duke beat twice. Neither would be easy. I don't know how far I see Duke going. I think Duke would have to win the whole Tournament to be back in the 1-seed conversation. I know Duke should win the whole thing. They're the best team in the event. It's all a matter of where they are mentally.
Outlook
