How ACC bubble teams can improve their resume, take part in March Madness

The NCAA Tournament gets underway in less than two months, meaning teams are running out of time to improve their resume. Several ACC programs could certainly use some help as the conference isn’t in a great spot to have many teams playing in March Madness at the moment.

ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi updated his Bracketology recently. Lunardi currently has only three ACC teams making the NCAA Tournament.

The bracket expert has North Carolina as 1 seed (No. 4 overall), Duke as a 4 seed (No. 16 overall) and Clemson as a 6 seed (No. 26 overall). Lunardi does have seven ACC teams on the bubble, but he only has three getting in the Big Dance.

The Tar Heels are currently 17-3 (9-0) and playing as well as anyone in the country. North Carolina has won 10 straight games entering Tuesday’s matchup at Georgia Tech. UNC also has a huge game against Duke coming up on Saturday at 6:30.

Speaking of the Blue Devils, Duke is 15-4 (6-2) after escaping with a 72-71 win over Clemson on Saturday. Duke has won 10 of its last 11 games but has had a few close calls during that stretch.

Finally, Clemson is 13-6 (3-5) ahead of Tuesday’s game against Louisville. The Tigers got off to a great start to the season but have struggled some as of late. Clemson is only 2-5 in its past seven games.

As for ACC teams who could get back in the conversation for an NCAA Tournament berth, Lunardi listed Virginia, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State and Syracuse as teams in contention.

Lunardi has Virginia at 77 overall, followed by Wake Forest (78), Virginia Tech (79), Miami (84), Florida State (87) and Syracuse (88).

Those teams still have a chance to make a run and keep the ACC from only getting three teams in, but they need to get to work soon. Here’s a look at how each can improve their resume coming up.

Virginia is currently 15-5 (6-3) and has won four straight games. The Cavaliers have a real chance to improve their resume on Saturday at Clemson. Virginia also has games coming up against bubble teams Miami and Florida State.

Wake Forest sits at 13-6 (5-3) at the moment. The Demon Deacons have some solid wins but missed out on three chances to get quality road wins recently, falling to Florida State, NC State and North Carolina in their last three road games. The schedule is manageable for the Demon Deacons over the next couple of weeks as they also have a chance for road wins at Pitt and at Georgia Tech.

Virginia Tech is currently 13-7 (5-4). The Hokies have won three straight games and can push their streak to four straight with a win against Duke on Monday. Virginia Tech has a brutal three-week stretch coming up, playing at Miami, vs. Florida State, at North Carolina and vs. Virginia between now and Feb. 19, in addition to Monday’s game vs. Duke.

Miami is talented but has been slowed by injuries this season after reaching the Final 4 in 2023. Miami is currently 14-6 (5-4) and has some tough games coming up that could improve its resume. That includes matchups with Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson and Duke over the next three weeks.

Florida State sits at 12-8 (6-3) but the Seminoles have been playing better as of late. FSU has a chance to get a winning streak going with games coming up against Louisville and Boston College.

Finally, Syracuse is 14-6 (5-4). The Orange are 9-3 in their past 12 games with two of the three losses coming to Duke and North Carolina. The Orange have a favorable schedule down the stretch in ACC play.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the ACC season plays out and if more teams in the conference can make a case to be a part of March Madness.