ACC Tournament 2015: Bracket Predictions Before Final Regular-Season Games

Conference tournaments are always a great prelude to March Madness, and with five Top 25 teams—including Nos. 2 and 3 in the national rankings—the ACC stands out above the rest.

While the SEC's Kentucky Wildcats hold a 30-0 record heading into their regular-season finale and have been the talk of the season, the ACC has several top-tier squads capable of taking down the juggernaut. However, they must first go through each other.

The conference is highly up for grabs, as Virginia has excelled this season due to its consistently stout defense that ranked first in the nation, allowing a mere 50.0 points per game. Duke has been an offensive powerhouse, shooting an impressive 50.4 percent from the floor as a team. Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals, Mike Brey's Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and Roy Williams' North Carolina Tar Heels can't be discounted, either.

As we anxiously await this compelling tournament to commence, here's a look at the conference's projected seeds and bracket predictions.

Projected Seeds

Seed	Team
1	Virginia
2	Duke
3	Notre Dame
4	North Carolina
5	Louisville
6	Miami
7	NC State
8	Pittsburgh
9	Clemson
10	Florida State
11	Wake Forest
12	Boston College
13	Georgia Tech
14	Virginia Tech

Note: This year's tournament is reduced to 14 teams due to Syracuse's self-imposed ban.

Bracket Predictions

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Before we get into the predictions, here's how the above seeds were projected. Virginia, Duke and Notre Dame are already locks as Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively. If the Cavaliers defeat Louisville in the regular-season finale, the Cardinals will need too much help to get the No. 4 seed, and North Carolina will grab it as a result, leaving Louisville at No. 5.

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Miami shouldn't have trouble taking down Virginia Tech to maintain the No. 6 seed, and North Carolina State should be able to claim seventh with a win over Syracuse. A Pittsburgh victory over Florida State combined with a Clemson loss to Notre Dame would put the Panthers in at No. 8, Tigers at No. 9 and Seminoles at No. 10.

Wake Forest and Boston College are already locked in as Nos. 11 and 12, respectively, leaving Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech to round out the bottom two.

Now, on to the predictions.

Virginia may be the top-ranked squad in the ACC, but the Cavaliers won't have it easy. In this scenario, they must face the winner of Pittsburgh and Clemson in the quarterfinals, followed by either Louisville or North Carolina in the semifinals before presumably taking on Duke in the final. That's not an easy road for any team.

Making matters worse for the Cavaliers, they will likely have to compete without the services of junior guard Justin Anderson. According to Dana O'Neil of ESPN.com, Anderson will miss the team's final regular-season game due to a recent appendectomy. The guard already missed time with a broken finger, and this is another unfortunate setback.

On the season, Anderson is averaging 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He is also an excellent three-point shooter and a good perimeter defender at 6'6". Getting him back into the fold quickly could be the difference-maker in taking the conference title.

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Still, the backcourt duo of Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill has been sound of late, as the two combined to score 27 points in a recent victory over Syracuse. In the postgame press conference, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim praised Virginia's effort despite the absence of Anderson, according to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com:

"

They can beat anybody without [Anderson]. They're clearly the second-best team in the country, from what I've seen. Their players are underrated. They're very physical, strong guys. There's a reason they've lost one game.

"

So here's the burning question: Will anyone from the ACC manage to take Virginia down?

If any team is going to get the job done, it's Mike Krzyzewski's Duke Blue Devils.

Duke had some hiccups earlier in the season, losing to NC State, Miami and Notre Dame. However, Krzyzewski's young squad really started to come together down the final stretch of the regular season, winning 10 consecutive games, which included a victory over the Cavaliers.

In that contest, Duke was able to compete with Virginia down low, grabbing 34 rebounds to the Cavaliers' 35, and that helped give guards Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones opportunities to knock down some late threes to forge an impressive rally.

Following the game, Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett accredited the loss to self-inflicted errors, according to the AP, via ESPN.com.

"There were a few possessions where I thought we were a little stagnant and didn't get the looks we wanted against their zone," Bennett said. "I thought there was enough offense there to win that game. At the end, you've got to come up with some tough stops. Those errors and breakdowns cost us."

Since that contest, both teams have been on respective tears; however, Duke's had some very close calls against the likes of Florida State, North Carolina and, most recently, Virginia Tech. A close game against the rival Tar Heels is expected, but an overtime win against the lowly Hokies so late in the season is cause for concern.

The winner of the ACC tournament will need consistency on its side, and that trait belongs to the Cavaliers.

Predicted tournament winner: Virginia