ACC Tournament 2016: Bracket Predictions After Final Regular-Season Games

Following another exciting matchup between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils on Saturday, the field is set for the 2016 Men's Basketball ACC Tournament.

North Carolina wrapped up the top seed with a 76-72 victory over its rival, and forward Brice Johnson seems ready for tournament play, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).

"After all we've been through the last four years, it feels great to be able to walk off this court and say we won the ACC," Johnson said.

There will be plenty of challengers to North Carolina. Of course, Duke always seems to be in play, but this year it's uncharacteristically a No. 5 seed, missing out on the tournament double bye.

Team	Titles	Last Championship	Year Joined
Duke Blue Devils	19	2011	1953
North Carolina Tar Heels	16	2008	1953
North Carolina State Wolf Pack	10	1987	1953
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	4	1996	1953
Maryland Terrapins	3	2004	1953
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	3	1993	1978
Virginia Cavaliers	2	2014	1953
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	1	2015	2013
Miami Hurricanes	1	2013	2004
Florida State Seminoles	1	2012	1991

Miami, who finished third, is a real threat, but the Virginia Cavaliers may be the biggest one.

Head coach Tony Bennett's squad carried the title of back-to-back regular-season conference champions until yesterday and won the tournament title in 2014.

Don't count out last year's champion, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, either. One of last year's heroes, Zach Auguste, who led the team to the Elite Eight, is back along with leading scorer Demetrius Jackson to defend their title. 

Let's take a closer look at the tournament details along with a prediction of who will cut down the nets this year:

What: 2016 ACC Tournament

When: March 8-12

Where: Washington D.C. (Verizon Center)

Last year's champion: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Tuesday, March 8	First Round
Wednesday, March 9	Second Round
Thursday, March 10	Quarterfinals
Friday, March 11	Semifinals
Saturday, March 12	Finals
Matchups	Time (ET)	TV	Projected Winner
No. 12 North Carolina State vs. No. 13 Wake Forest	12 p.m.	ESPN2	Wake Forest
No. 11 Florida State vs. No. 14 Boston College	2 p.m.*	ESPN2	Florida State
Matchups	Time (ET)	TV	Projected Winner
No. 8 Pittsburgh vs. No. 9 Syracuse	12 p.m.	ESPN	Syracuse
No. 13 Wake Forest vs. No. 5 Duke	2 p.m.*	ESPN	Duke
No. 7 Clemson vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech	7 p.m.	ESPN2	Clemson
No. 11 Florida State vs. No. 6 Virginia Tech	9 p.m.*	ESPN2	Virginia Tech
Matchups	Time (ET)	TV	Projected Winner
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Syracuse	12 p.m.	ESPN	North Carolina
No. 4 Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Duke	2 p.m.*	ESPN	Duke
No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 7 Clemson	7 p.m.	ESPN	Virginia
No. 3 Miami vs. No. 6 Virginia Tech	9 p.m.*	ESPN	Miami
Matchups	Time (ET)	TV	Projected Winner
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Duke	7 p.m.	ESPN or ESPN2	Duke
No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 3 Miami	9 p.m.*	ESPN or ESPN2	Virginia
Matchups	Time (ET)	TV	Projected Winner
No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 5 Duke	9 p.m.	ESPN	Virginia

While it seems the field is wide open here, Virginia is the pick. Led by All-American candidate Malcolm Brogdon, the Cavaliers are playing as well as anyone in the country not named the Kansas Jayhawks.

They have 10 wins in their past 12 games, including one against the Tar Heels. Their two losses included a one-point buzzer-beater at Duke and a three-point defeat at Miami.

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale had high praise for Brogdon via Twitter on Friday:

He is averaging 18.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists, but if the seeds play out, he will be facing another talented senior for the Tar Heels in Johnson.

The forward is averaging 16.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and is coming off a monster performance in the win against Duke with 18 points and 21 rebounds.

He pulled off a first in the storied rivalry with Duke, per SportsCenter:

Even though Duke ended up in the fifth spot, the team with the most ACC tournament titles is always a threat to win. You can be sure head coach Mike Krzyzewski will have his defending NCAA champion team ready, per Laura Keeley of the Raleigh News & Observer and Charlotte Observer:

The Blue Devils received bad news that senior Amile Jefferson will not return from injury for the postseason, but they've shown they can rely on sophomore guard Grayson Allen to carry them when needed. 

He scored 23 points in a Feb. 17 win at North Carolina, and look for him to lead Duke to a second victory in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, setting up a rematch with the Cavaliers.

Although, Allen said that's only going to happen if his team finds a way to rebound better after getting destroyed on the boards (64-29) against the Tar Heels, per Keeley.

"If we play like this in the postseason, it's not going to be good...we're going to get killed in the paint, killed on the boards," Allen said.

The Blue Devils, who did hit 13 three-pointers and force 14 North Carolina turnovers Saturday, won't let that happen again.

However, Brogdon and Co. will be looking for revenge after Allen's acrobatic leaner banked in at the buzzer in a 63-62 Duke victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 13.

If Saturday is any indication of how Virginia senior center Mike Tobey will play in the tournament, Duke could be in trouble. The 7-footer scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in a win over the Louisville Cardinals.

The Cavaliers are clicking on all cylinders and will pull out a close one over the Blue Devils for their third ACC tournament victory and second in three years.