ACC Tournament 2017: Quarterfinals Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket Predictions

The second round of the ACC tournament offered one of the best performances of Championship Week (Virginia Tech senior forward Zach LeDay's 31-point, 15-rebound effort), definitely the best shot (Wake Forest forward Greg McClinton doing his best Taj Gibson imitation and throwing in a three-quarter court heave after a steal before halftime) and a near-upset (Clemson losing to Duke by seven after being down just one with under three minutes left).

On Thursday, the ACC's best teams will take the stage during the quarterfinal round, as North Carolina, Florida State, Notre Dame and Louisville begin conference play.

Here's a look at the ACC tournament schedule and predictions for Thursday's action.

ACC Tournament Schedule

Date	Game	Round	Matchup	Time (ET)	Television
Tuesday, March 7	1	First	No. 12 Clemson 75, No. 13 NC State 61	Noon	ESPN2/ACC Network
Tuesday, March 7	2	First	No. 10 Wake Forest 92, No. 15 Boston College 78	2 p.m.	ESPN2/ACC Network
Tuesday, March 7	3	First	No. 14 Pitt 61, No. 11 Georgia Tech 59	7 p.m.	ESPNU/ACC Network
Wednesday, March 8	4	Second	No. 9 Miami 62, No. 8 Syracuse 57	Noon	ESPN/ACC Network
Wednesday, March 8	5	Second	No. 5 Duke 79, No. 12 Clemson 72	2 p.m.	ESPN/ACC Network
Wednesday, March 8	6	Second	No. 7 Virginia Tech 99, No. 10 Wake Forest 90	7 p.m.	ESPN2/ACC Network
Wednesday, March 8	7	Second	No. 6 Virginia 75, No. 14 Pitt 63	9 p.m.	ESPN2/ACC Network
Thursday, March 9	8	Quarterfinals	No. 9 Miami vs. No. 1 UNC	Noon	ESPN/ACC Network
Thursday, March 9	9	Quarterfinals	No. 5 Duke vs. No. 4 Louisville	2 p.m.	ESPN/ACC Network
Thursday, March 9	10	Quarterfinals	No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. No. 2 Florida State	7 p.m.	ESPN/ACC Network
Thursday, March 9	11	Quarterfinals	No. 6 Virginia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame	9 p.m.	ESPN/ACC Network
Friday, March 10	12	Semifinals	Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner	7 p.m.	ESPN or ESPN2/ACC Network
Friday, March 10	13	Semifinals	Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner	9 p.m.	ESPN or ESPN2/ACC Network
Saturday, March 11	14	Final	Game 12 winner vs. Game 13 winner	9 p.m.	ESPN/ACC Network

Information via theacc.com. All games will be live streamed on WatchESPN and take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Quarterfinal Predictions

1. No. 9 Miami vs. No. 1 UNC

Miami freshman guard Dejan Vasiljevic was the key in the Hurricanes' 62-57 win over Syracuse on Wednesday, as he made a trio of three-pointers in a 13-point effort off the bench.

As a team, the 'Canes shot 9-of-23 from deep, helping them beat the pesky 'Cuse 2-3 zone.

Although Miami's win against Syracuse was impressive, it faces much stiffer competition against North Carolina on Thursday. The Tar Heels are undoubtedly one of the best teams in the nation and have four upperclassmen who average more than 11 points per game.

That quartet also played key roles on last year's national championship runner-up, so they have a significant advantage over other teams who do not have as much postseason experience.

Led by ACC Player of the Year Justin Jackson, North Carolina should win this game easily.

Pick: North Carolina

2. No. 5 Duke vs. No. 4 Louisville 

Sometimes, we see a player almost single-handedly will a team to the Final Four (or even a national championship) with jaw-dropping play. Such was the case in 1988 with forward Danny Manning and Kansas ("Danny and the Miracles") and 2011 with UConn and point guard Kemba Walker. Both teams eventually won the national championship.

Sophomore guard Luke Kennard could be that guy for Duke this season. The sweet-shooting lefty has been on fire this season, averaging 20.1 points per game on 50.4-percent shooting, including an incredible 45 percent from beyond the arc.

Kennard has been so good that he is drawing comparisons to the best left-handed shooter basketball has ever seen:

Louisville has a tough task in stopping Kennard. When these two teams last played, Kennard only took 10 shots but still managed 17 points in a 78-69 defeat to the Cardinals. Expect Kennard to put up more shots (and score more points) this time around.

That being said, while Kennard will be the best player on the floor, Louisville is the slightly better team at this juncture. The Cardinals are ranked eighth overall in the Ken Pomeroy College Basketball rankings and sixth overall in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Furthermore, the Cardinals have another sophomore guard, Donovan Mitchell, who is playing great ball right now, scoring at least 20 points in four of his last five games and averaging over two steals per contest.

This will be the game of the ACC tournament, and it should come down to the final possessions. The Cardinals will win by a basket, but both teams should be making deep NCAA tournament runs.

Pick: Louisville

3. No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. No. 2 Florida State

The Hokies' defense will likely be the Achilles heel that drops them from the conference (and NCAA) tournaments. It wasn't bad enough against a team that it's on par with in Wake Forest, but it will be their downfall against Florida State.

Virginia Tech ranks 129th in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Pomeroy, and allows 73.9 points per game, which is 223rd in the nation.

Florida State took advantage of the Hokies defense when these two teams played in the regular season, as the Seminoles won 93-78.

Don't expect another 15-point deficit, but sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon, who averages 16.9 points per game and put on one of the more impressive individual performances of the ACC season when he scored 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting against the notoriously stingy UVA defense, will lead the 'Noles to victory.

Pick: Florida State

4. No. 6 Virginia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame

Here's an incredible stat: UVA has ranked in the top seven in adjusted defensive efficiency for four straight seasons, per Pomeroy. That's in large part due to head coach Tony Bennett's implementation of the almost impenetrable Pack Line defense, which his father, Dick Bennett, established when he was a collegiate head coach.

That defense causes a lot of teams problems, most notably North Carolina when it only scored 43 points in a 53-43 loss to UVA in Charlottesville.

Notre Dame also had issues with the UVA defense as well, only shooting 3-of-18 from deep in a 71-54 loss. That being said, don't expect Notre Dame to shoot that poorly again. The Fighting Irish have shot 38.9 percent from beyond the arc this season, which is 27th in Division I. They'll knock down a few more buckets this time against the Cavaliers.

However, UVA is one of the most underrated teams in the nation. The Cavaliers don't have a win-loss record that would normally fit that bill (22-9 overall), but they have played the fourth-toughest schedule in the country and have six wins against teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI, per ESPN.

UVA and Notre Dame will play a much closer game this time around, but the Cavaliers' tough defense will prove to be the difference.

Pick: Virginia