Breaking Down the Conferences: ACC

This will be the first in a series of posts made with the intention of forecasting each team's tournament prospects.


Locks


North Carolina- as expected, the Tar Heels are looking like a national title contender and are in the running for the #1 overall seed. The remainder of their schedule is relatively soft (@Maryland, GTech, @Va Tech, Duke), and it's difficult to see UNC losing more than one of those games.

Seed Range: 1


Wake Forest- after a few inexplicable losses, the Demon Deacons appear to be back on track, with consecutive blowout victories over FSU and GTech. The remaining games @Duke, @Maryland, and home vs Clemson will go a long way toward deciding their final seed.

Seed Range: 2-4


Clemson- in addition to the home blowout against Duke, the Tigers have shown they can win on the road, with wins at Illinois, Miami, South Carolina, Boston College, and Virginia Tech. Add to that a managable remaining schedule (@GTech, Va Tech, @FSU, Virginia, @Wake Forest), and Clemson is likely looking at a high seed come Selection Sunday.

Seed Range: 2-5


Duke- the Blue Devils have lost 4 of 6 after starting the year 18-1. While they aren't in any danger of falling out of the tournament, Duke has a tough final stretch (Wake Forest, @Maryland, @Va Tech, FSU, @UNC) and could suffer a major hit in seeding if they don't win at least 3 of their last 5.

Seed Range: 3-7


Should Be In

Florida State- it looks like Leonard Hamilton is finally going to get the Seminoles into the Big Dance this year. They aren't a lock yet because of a tough last five games (@Va Tech, @Boston College, Clemson, @Duke, Va Tech), but they should make it barring a complete collapse.

Seed Range: 6-10


Boston College- the Eagles appear to be closing in on a bid, with 4 winnable games left on the schedule (@Miami, FSU, @NC State, GTech). The bad OOC losses to Harvard and St. Louis may hurt their seeding, but the wins against Duke and North Carolina make it unlikely they'll miss the tournament.

Seed Range: 7-11


Bubble


Virginia Tech- the recent losses @Maryland and @Virginia could come back to haunt the Hokies. A brutal last five games (FSU, @Clemson, Duke, UNC, @FSU) will make or break their season.

Prediction: NIT


Miami- the 'Canes let two major opportunities slip away against Duke and UNC, and are now 4-8 in the ACC. Miami's remaining schedule is soft (Boston College, @Virginia, @GTech, NC State), but 1 more regular season loss likely sends them to the NIT.

Prediction: NCAA


Maryland- the remaining schedule keeps the Terps' hopes alive (home games against UNC, Duke, and Wake Forest, road games @NC State and Virginia), but an NCAA bid seems unlikely at this point.

Prediction: NIT