2010 ACC Tournament preview

When: March 11-14
Where: Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC
Championship Game: March 14 - ESPN
Defending Champs: Duke
The Format: 12 teams, 4 rounds

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

First Round (Mar. 11)
Game 1 - #8 Boston College vs. #9 Virginia - 12:00pm ET
Game 2 - #5 Wake Forest  vs. #12 Miami (FL) - 2:00pm ET
Game 3 - #7 Georgia Tech vs. #10 North Carolina - 7:00pm ET
Game 4 - #6 Clemson vs. #11 N. Carolina State - 9:00pm ET

Second Round (Mar. 12)
Game 5 - #1 Duke vs. Game 1 winner - 12:00pm ET
Game 6 - #4 Virginia Tech vs. Game 2 winner - 2:00pm ET
Game 7 - #2 Maryland vs. Game 3 winner - 7:00pm ET
Game 8 - #3 Florida State vs. Game 4 winner - 9:00pm ET

Third Round (Mar. 13)
Game 9 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 1:30pm ET
Game 10 - Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner - 3:30pm ET

Championship Round (Mar. 14)
Game 11 - Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner - 1:00pm ET

Bubble Teams Needing a Win: Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech - RPI (44) - SOS (19) - KenPom (30)

The Verdict: Finishing 7-9 during a down year for the ACC certainly doesn't help Tech's chances, but the numbers on paper seem to indicated that GT deserves a bid. Beating North Carolina on day one is imperative.

Player to Watch: Malcolm Delaney-Virginia Tech
Voters definitely made the right choice by selecting Maryland's Greivis Vasquez as the ACC Player of the Year, but it's pretty frustrating that Delaney only received two first place votes compared to 12 for Duke's resident bricklayer Jon Scheyer. Tech's 6'3" junior led the conference in scoring, both overall and in league games, and he's easily one of the most dynamic players in the country. Can Delaney lead the Hokies to their first ACC title since 1979?

Prediction: Clemson
Is Duke the smart pick here? Maybe so. But I really can't shake the feeling that an upstart team like Clemson will defy the odds and surge into the title game. Trevor Booker remains one of the most dominant big men in the ACC, and he's looking to atone for a regular season where his numbers really didn't improve much from his junior year. Aside from that, I really like Clemson's nonstop defensive pressure and how often they get easy buckets in transition. Guards Andre Young and Demontez Stitt exemplify this, giving Clemson two of most underrated on-ball defenders in the country. Call me crazy, but I think the Tigers have what it takes to run the table.

Other Previews:
Atlantic 10 Tournament
Big East Tournament
Big Ten Tournament
Big 12 Tournament
Pac-10 Tournament
SEC Tournament