ACC Tournament 2024: Top Storylines for Men's Round 1 Games

The 2024 ACC tournament kicks off with the bottom six teams in the regular-season standings playing against each other.

The opening round in Washington, D.C. presents an opportunity for some teams to build on their campaigns under new head coaches.

Other teams probably can't wait until the season is over because of how dreadful they have been.

The Miami Hurricanes and Louisville Cardinals fit the latter category best for different reasons. Miami underachieved after making the Final Four last season, while Louisville is mired in a slump that began in November.

Before that, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will try to win their opening battle to potentially start a Cinderella run inside Capital One Arena.

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Can Miami Create Any March Magic?

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CORAL GABLES, FL - MARCH 06: Miami guard Nijel Pack (24) handles the ball while defended by Boston College guard/forward Prince Aligbe (10) in the first half as the Miami Hurricanes faced the Boston College Eagles on March 6, 2024, at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Miami comes into Washington, D.C. on a nine-game losing streak.

The 14th-seeded Hurricanes have been nowhere close to the level of play they displayed last season.

They open the ACC tournament against a Boston College team that they lost to twice in the regular season by a combined 18 points.

Two results like that were unfathomable for the Hurricanes at the start of the campaign, but everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the 2023 Final Four participant.

Miami needs a drastic turnaround just to get out of the first round. That is possible since BC's only ACC wins in the last month came against the Hurricanes and Louisville.

Miami probably will not get close to the ACC tournament final, but one or two wins at the event would be a nice end to an awful season.

Louisville's Disastrous Season Should Come to an End

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LOUISVILLE, KY - MARCH 09: Louisville Cardinals forward Kaleb Glenn (10) drives down the lane and goes in for the lay up during a mens college basketball game between the Boston College Eagles and the Louisville Cardinals on March 09, 2024 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Louisville was not expected to be close to the top of the ACC this season, but it still found ways to disappoint throughout the season.

The Cardinals managed to earn just three conference victories and they have not won since February 10.

Head coach Kenny Payne could be on the way out after Tuesday's game. Most of Tuesday's broadcast should be about Louisville's offseason rather than it being competitive with the NC State Wolfpack.

Louisville allowed over 80 points on 10 occasions in ACC play, including on January 13 to NC State.

The Wolfpack should cruise past Louisville with a similar offensive performance. That will send the Cardinals into an offseason where everything needs to be improved.

Could Notre Dame or Georgia Tech Start Cinderella Run?

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SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - MARCH 02: Carey Booth #0 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish drives to the basket while defended by RJ Godfrey #10 of the Clemson Tigers at Joyce Center on March 02, 2024 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

The opening game of the ACC tournament pits two developing programs against each other.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets went 4-2 in their last six games and their resume includes upsets over the Clemson Tigers, North Carolina Tar Heels and Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish put together a 5-3 mark in their last eight games. Their last two wins came against Clemson and Wake Forest.

Notre Dame and Georgia Tech have the most to play for among the six Day 1 participants because each program is building something under Micah Shrewsberry and Damon Stoudamire.

The winner could become the ACC tournament's Cinderella team since both Wake Forest and the Pittsburgh Panthers have been susceptible to upsets this season.

Notre Dame and Georgia Tech both beat Wake in the regular season and they will play with no pressure on Wednesday against a Wake team that needs to avoid another bad loss.

A win over Pitt is less likely in the quarterfinals because that would be third game in three days for either team, but at that point, they could ride the wave of momentum and no pressure to a victory.

None of Tuesday's six participants could win multiple games, but if someone does, it will be either the Irish or Yellow Jackets.