ACC Tournament 2025: TV Schedule and Early Men's Bracketology Predictions
College basketball fans won't soon forget the 2024 men's ACC Tournament, which propelled the NC State Wolfpack from the No. 10 seed into an NCAA Tournament berth-clinching championship.
NC State, which went just 17-14 in the regular season, eventually rode that momentum wave into the Final Four.
Are there any sleepers in this field who could spin a similar Cinderella yarn? Or will this year's event play out closer to expectations? We'll preview what lies ahead by laying out the broadcast schedule and then examining the NCAA Tournament chances of those comfortably in the field and still on the bubble.
Broadcast Schedule
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Tuesday, March 11 | First round
Game 1: No. 12 seed vs. No. 13 seed at 2 p.m. ET on ACCN
Game 2: No. 10 seed vs. No. 15 seed at 4:30 p.m. ET on ACCN
Game 3: No. 11 seed vs. No. 14 seed at 7 p.m. ET on ACCN
Wednesday, March 12 | Second round
Game 4: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed at noon ET on TBA
Game 5: No. 5 seed vs. Game 1 winner at 2:30 p.m. ET on TBA
Game 6: No. 7 seed vs. Game 2 winner at 7 p.m. ET on TBA
Game 7: No. 6 seed vs. Game 3 winner at 9:30 p.m. ET on TBA
Thursday, March 13 | Quarterfinals
Game 8: No. 1 seed vs. Game 4 winner at noon ET on TBA
Game 9: No. 4 seed vs. Game 5 winner at 2:30 p.m. ET on TBA
Game 10: No. 2 seed vs. Game 6 winner at 7 p.m. ET on TBA
Game 11: No. 3 seed vs. Game 7 winner at 9:30 p.m. ET on TBA
Friday, March 14 | Semifinals
Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner at 7 p.m. ET on TBA
Game 13: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner at 9:30 p.m. ET on TBA
Saturday, March 15 | Championship
Game 14: Game 12 winner vs. Game 13 winner at 8:30 p.m. ET on TBA
Tournament Locks
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This hasn't exactly been a banner season for the ACC, which has just three ranked teams. Moreover, those are the only teams to crack the top 40 of KenPom.com's efficiency rankings.
Those three schools—Duke, Louisville and Clemson—are also the only ACC teams who are already set for a stress-free Selection Sunday.
The Blue Devils might be the best team in the country (No. 1 on KenPom). Their resume is undeniable. They've only lost three games, and all three were against teams ranked at the time or ranked now and decided by six points or less. They've also suffered just a single setback since the start of December.
Louisville and Clemson aren't in the same tier, but the Cardinals are similarly scorching (16-1 since a 6-5 start) and the Tigers are responsible for handing Duke its only conference loss.
Bubble Watch
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There are 18 teams in this conference, and a number of them have strong basketball legacies. Yet, there's a chance the ACC only sends three teams to the Big Dance.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi sees four schools getting in, but that's with Wake Forest being the final team in the field. ESPN's Neil Paine, using BPI predictions, gives the Demon Deacons just a 26 percent chance of making the cut. They've hit a rough patch, losing three of their last four, but they'd do wonders for their tournament outlook if they could snap out of this before Monday's road clash with Duke.
Just behind Wake Forest for Lunardi is North Carolina, which held the dubious distinction of being his first team out. The BPI forecast gives the Heels a 34 percent chance of earning an invite, but they could substantially boost their chances if they find a way to close this campaign with a win over Duke in their finale.
SMU also landed among Lunardi's first four out, but the BPI forecast likes their chances best of this group (65 percent). The Mustangs have won the games they're supposed to, but they do run light on quality wins. They can't really change that reputation before the ACC tournament, either, since they'll close out the season against Stanford, Syracuse and Florida State.
