ACC Tournament 2012 Bracket: Predicting the Duke Blue Devils' Run in Atlanta

With the ACC tournament underway, let's take a look at what you can expect when watching Duke. They are obviously one of the more talked-about teams every year, so let's see what we can expect from the Blue Devils as they head into the NCAA tournament. 

Quarterfinals: Duke vs. Virginia Tech

We'll start by saying that Virginia Tech will knock out Clemson. It is technically an upset, but the Hokies have played some incredibly close games this season, including both a win and two-point loss against the Tigers. 

Look for more of the same against the Blue Devils in the first round, but ultimately Duke will be too deep. The Blue Devils always seem to elevate their games at the ACC tournament, and that will continue against the Hokies. 

Duke will get a valiant effort from Virginia Tech, as they are an incredibly gritty team. Ultimately though, the Blue Devils' talent will be too much, especially the outside talent. 

Prediction: Duke 86, Virginia Tech 75

Semifinals: Duke vs. Florida State

Florida State is too good. They will be a part of this game, and it will be a rubber match. 

Duke will win this game for a simple reason: They score much better than the Seminoles do. The Blue Devils have a legitimately deadly outside attack, and Florida State will not be able to match that. 

Consider that, and now realize that Florida State doesn't have what it takes on the inside to exploit Duke's average play on the inside, as the Seminoles are only marginally better there, if that.

They'll keep Duke in check offensively, comparatively speaking at least. Still, the Blue Devils will pull away in the final minutes, moving to the finals.  

Prediction: Duke 78, Florida State 71

Finals: Duke vs. North Carolina

There is no better way for this tournament to end. We won't see the UNC blowout that the regular-season finale at Cameron gave us, but we won't see a Duke win either. 

Ultimately, North Carolina has too much of a presence on the inside for the Blue Devils to compete with. You can't rely on guards and outside shooting as much as Duke does and expect to beat a team like North Carolina. You're going to have cold days.

Heck, when the Blue Devils actually beat UNC, they were incredibly sharp from the outside and still were trailing until the final shot. That won't happen again, although Duke's shooters will be better than we saw last week. 

Prediction: North Carolina 81, Duke 73

ACC Tournament Schedule:

First Round, Thursday, March 8
No. 8 Maryland 51 vs. No. 9 Wake Forest 35
No. 5 N.C. State vs. No. 12 Boston College – 2 p.m. EST (ESPNU)
No. 7 Clemson vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech – 7 p.m. EST (ESPNU)
No. 6 Miami vs. No. 11 Georgia Tech – 9 p.m. EST (ESPNU)

Quarterfinals, Friday, March 9
No. 1 North Carolina vs. Maryland – 12 p.m. EST (ESPN2)
No. 4 Virginia vs. 5/12 winner – 2 p.m. EST (ESPN2)
No. 2 Duke vs. 7/10 winner – 7 p.m. EST (ESPN2)
No. 3 Florida State vs. 6/11 winner – 9 p.m. EST (ESPN2)

Semifinals, Saturday, March 10
Winners of Friday's early games – 1 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Winners of Friday's late games – 3 p.m. EST (ESPN)

Championship Game, Sunday, March 11
Semifinal winners – 1 p.m. EST (ESPN)

Full bracket found at ESPN. 

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