ACC Tournament 2012 Bracket: Miami and NC State Need Wins to Make NCAA Tourney

No two teams have more to gain or lose in the ACC tournament than Miami and NC State.

North Carolina, Duke and Florida State are already dancing. Virginia is probably in as well, though a win or two would make them a lock. And the rest of the schools in the ACC are only getting in by winning the ACC tourney.

But as of now—if you listen to Joe Lunardi of ESPN, at least—neither NC State or Miami is in the NCAA tournament just yet.

They're close—Lundardi has NC State in his "last four out" and Miami in his "next four out"—but close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and Fatal Attraction.

Still, all is not lost. Each school could probably seal up an NCAA berth by advancing to the semifinals of the ACC tourney.

For NC State, that means victories over Boston College and Virginia—that's certainly a doable task.

For Miami, that means victories over Georgia Tech and Florida State—more difficult than NC State's task, but still viable.

So what of each team's resume?

NC State finished 9-7 in the ACC and 20-11 overall, but are lacking in the signature win department (highlights include victories over Texas and Miami) and the team's RPI (.5738) is 55th in the nation.

Miami also finished 9-7 in the ACC (18-11 overall) and boasts signature wins over Duke and Florida State. Their RPI (.5750) is slightly higher than NC State's and is 50th in the nation overall.

A second win against Florida State in the ACC semifinals should make them a tourney lock, though anything else and they might be NIT bound.

Nine wins in the ACC isn't anything to sneeze at (though if I'm being honest, I am rarely able to sneeze on command at something I don't like anyway), so I don't think either team needs to win the entire tournament to seal a berth to the big dance.

But neither can afford to risk a poor performance or ouster from the tournament in the first round, either.

Now here's the full bracket for the ACC tournament (along with dates, television times, etc.).

Round	Game	Date	Matchup	Time	Television Schedule
First	1	Thursday, March 8	No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 9 Wake Forest	Noon	ESPNU / ACC Network
First	2	Thursday, March 8	No. 5 NC State/ vs. No. 12 Boston College	2 p.m.	ESPNU / ACC Network
First	3	Thursday, March 8	No. 7 Clemson vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech	7 p.m.	ESPNU / ACC Network
First	4	Thursday, March 8	No. 6 Miami vs. No. 11 Georgia Tech	9 p.m.	ESPNU / ACC Network
Second	5	Friday, March 9	No. 1 North Carolina vs. Game 1 winner	Noon	ESPN2 / ACC Network
Second	6	Friday, March 9	No. 4 Virginia vs. Game 2 winner	2 p.m.	ESPN2 / ACC Network
Second	7	Friday, March 9	No. 2 Duke vs. Game 3 winner	7 p.m.	ESPN2 / ACC Network
Second	8	Friday, March 9	No. 3 Florida State vs. Game 4 winner	9 p.m.	ESPN2 / ACC Network
Semifinals	9	Saturday, March 10	ACC Semifinal 1	1 p.m.	ESPN / ACC Network
Semifinals	10	Saturday, March 10	ACC Semifinal 2	3 p.m.	ESPN / ACC Network
Final	11	Sunday, March 11	Championship Game	1 p.m.	ESPN / ACC Network

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are bounty free.