ACC Tournament 2013 Schedule: Players to Watch During Day 1 Action

The ACC Tournament is set to kick off in Greensboro, N.C. and there will several exciting talents taking the floor on the first day of the competition attempting to lead their team to the Big Dance.

While the heavy hitters have a bye through to the next round, a few of the conference’s stars will still be featured in Thursday’s action.

It only takes four games for the teams playing today to win the tournament, and if these players get hot, it will be difficult to slow them down. 

Here is the full schedule and bracket for the ACC Tournament, along with the three players to keep an eye on during Day 1.

2013 ACC Tournament Schedule (via TheACC.com)

Date	Round	Game	Start Time (ET)	Network
Thursday, March 14	1st Round	No. 8 Georgia Tech vs. No. 9 BC No. 12 Virginia Tech vs. No. 5 NC State No. 10 Wake Forest vs. No. 7 Maryland No. 11 Clemson vs. No. 6 Florida State	12 p.m.  2 p.m. 7 p.m 9 p.m.	ACC Network
Friday, March 15	Quarters	No. 1 Miami vs. Game 1 winner No. 4 Virginia vs. Game 2 winner No. 2 Duke vs. Game 3 winner No. 3 North Carolina vs. Game 4 winner	12 p.m. 2 p.m. 7 p.m. 9 p.m.	ESPN2
Saturday, March 16	Semis	Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner	1 p.m. 3 p.m.	ESPN
Sunday, March 17	Final	Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner	1 p.m.	ESPN

Bracket

Players to Watch

Alex Len, C, Maryland

It is rare for a 7’1” center to have such great touch around the rim, and this is why Len is projected to be a lottery pick in the next NBA draft.

He is averaging 11.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season, and the Terrapins’ tournament hopes will rest on his shoulders. He is the top talent on their team, and he will have to perform extremely well in order for Maryland to make a run.

The Terps will face Wake Forrest in the first round, and the Demon Deacons don’t have a player taller than 6’9” who received regular minutes during the regular season.

Len should dominate this game, and if he does, it may be a sign of things to come in the competition. 

 

Erick Green, G, Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech may not be on the national radar this season, but the Hokies do have the country’s leading scorer.

Erick Green put up a ridiculous 25.4 points per game this season while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from behind the three-point line.

It is not hard to figure out what Virginia Tech’s offensive game plan will be in this competition. The team will put the ball in Green’s hands and let him shoot.

The 12th-seeded Hokies do not have much else going for them, and it will almost certainly take more than 25 points from Green for the team to knock off North Carolina State.

 

C.J. Leslie, F, North Carolina State

With the amount of talent on the NC State roster, the team really should have performed well enough in the regular season to earn a first-round bye.

But the Wolfpack suffered several disappointing defeats this season and will now have to play an extra game in the tournament. However, the team should not have to work too hard to move past last-place Virginia Tech.

Even with a superb scoring night from Green, an athlete like Leslie should dominate against the Hokies. He is 6’9” with long arms, a quick first step and incredible leaping ability. 

The Wolfpack should be able to get out into the open floor in this game, and when that happens, Leslie will have opportunities to show off his hops end up on Thursday night’s edition SportsCenter.