Who will Notre Dame men’s basketball face in the ACC Tournament?

A disappointing Notre Dame men’s basketball campaign finally generated a produced moment in the regular season finale, and the Irish are entering the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament with some confidence.

“We still think we got a long way to go,” graduate student guard Matt Allocco said.

On the heels of their 112-110 quadruple-overtime win over California, Notre Dame will be the No. 12 seed in the ACC Tournament. The Irish finished fourth in a five-way tie for ninth place in the league. The plus side of that, from an optimistic point of view, is that they cannot play a projected NCAA Tournament team until the semifinals at the earliest. But coming in at 14-17, Notre Dame’s next loss will be its last before a pivotal offseason begins.

Here is a complete look at Notre Dame’s path in the ACC Tournament.

First round (Tuesday): No. 13 Pittsburgh

Tip-off: 2 p.m. ET on ACC Network

The Irish defeated the Panthers 76-72 on Feb. 22 in South Bend, behind 21 and 20 points from Tae Davis and Markus Burton, respectively, and 3 timely three-pointers from Cole Certa. A late barrage from Ismael Leggett, Pitt’s second-leading scorer behind Jaland Lowe, wasn’t enough to save Pitt.

The Panthers started 11-2, but closer look at their schedule showed some pretty clear signs that they would be paper tigers (a 90-57 drubbing at the hands of Mississippi State foreshadowed the gap between the ACC and the SEC). They’ve lost 12 of their last 17 games.

If Notre Dame beats Pittsburgh …

Second round (Wednesday): No. 5 North Carolina

Tip-off: 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

It’s been a disappointing season for North Carolina, who began the year as the No. 9 team in the country but now sits on the outside looking in. The Tar Heels are ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s second team out, so a loss to Notre Dame (or Pitt) would end their season. They likely need to reach the ACC Tournament championship game to have a shot.

The Irish had a win over Carolina in their grasp Jan. 4, but Elliot Cadeau’s four-point play with 14 seconds remaining allowed the Heels to steal a win.

If Notre Dame beats North Carolina …

Quarterfinals (Thursday): No. 4 Wake Forest

Wake Forest was supposed to finally break through and make the tournament for the first time under Steve Forbes, but unless the Demon Deacons win the ACC, that looks highly unlikely. They’re Lunardi’s sixth team out. They do feature an All-ACC candidate in Hunter Sallis (18.0 points per game), although Notre Dame has played him well the past two seasons thanks in large part to Davis’ defense.

Wake was another one of the games the Irish let slip away, allowing 49 points in the second half and failing to tie the game at the buzzer.

Tip-off: 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or ESPN2

Beyond the quarterfinals

A trip to the semifinals is improbable, given Notre Dame’s 8-12 record in ACC play. The Irish are capable beating Pittsburgh, North Carolina and Wake Forest. Beating all three of them on consecutive days is unlikely.

But for the heck of it, let’s dive into what that would mean.

Notre Dame’s semifinal matchup would take place at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, on either ESPN or ESPN2. The Irish would face No. 1 Duke or the winner of No. 8 Georgia Tech vs. No. 9 Virginia. So, they would almost certainly face the Blue Devils.

Duke, a projected No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, is on an absolute tear right now. Since their lone blip in ACC play, a respectable road loss to No. 3 (No. 11 in the country) Clemson, the Blue Devils won their final eight regular-season games by an average of 29.5 points. Freshman forward Cooper Flagg is the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft and one of two frontrunners (Auburn’s Johni Broome) for national player of the year.

Flagg set the ACC single-game record for points by a freshman against Notre Dame on Jan. 11 with 42, as the Irish lost to the Blue Devils 86-78.

What if, by some miracle, Notre Dame gets past Duke? The Irish would play in the ACC championship game at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the game being broadcast on ESPN.