ACC Tournament 2016: Schedule, Start Times, Live Stream and TV Info

North Carolina might have won the regular-season title, but the ACC tournament is wide open with a number of teams capable of taking home the trophy.

While Duke and UNC have dominated this event in the past—14 combined titles in 15 years from 1997-2011—neither has won in the past four years. Notre Dame, Virginia and Miami have represented a bit of a shift away from the two powers, and each of them has a chance to win it all again this year.

With 14 total teams in the field, there is certain to be some surprises throughout the week at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Make sure you don't miss a moment from arguably the best conference tournament in the country.

Date	Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
March 8	1	No. 12 North Carolina State vs. No. 13 Wake Forest	12 p.m.	ESPN2
March 8	2	No. 11 Florida State vs. No. 14 Boston College	2 p.m.	ESPN2
March 9	3	No. 8 Pittsburgh vs. No. 9 Syracuse	12 p.m.	ESPN
March 9	4	No. 5 Duke vs. Game 1 winner	2 p.m.	ESPN
March 9	5	No. 7 Clemson vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech	7 p.m.	ESPN2
March 9	6	No. 6 Virginia Tech vs. Game 2 winner	9 p.m.	ESPN2
March 10	7	No. 1 North Carolina vs. Game 3 winner	12 p.m.	ESPN
March 10	8	No. 4 Notre Dame vs. Game 4 winner	2 p.m.	ESPN
March 10	9	No. 2 Virginia vs. Game 5 winner	7 p.m.	ESPN
March 10	10	No. 3 Miami vs. Game 6 winner	9 p.m.	ESPN
March 11	11	Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner	7 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN2
March 11	12	Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner	9 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN2
March 12	13	Championship Game	9 p.m.	ESPN

All games can be seen online at WatchESPN. Full bracket available courtesy of Raycom Sports.

Preview

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Although the 8-9 game is often overlooked in tournaments, it might be the most important when it comes to getting a spot in the NCAA tournament. Coming into the week, the only real bubble teams in the ACC are Pittsburgh and Syracuse. As fate would have it, they face each other in the second round.

As Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports noted, winning this game would be huge for either team:

Pittsburgh has beaten Syracuse twice already this season, but a third time in one year is always difficult.

Still, the only real way to ensure a spot in the NCAA tournament is winning a conference title, and there are a lot of teams capable of this in the ACC. There are certainly some sleepers in the field that can do damage, from the exciting Florida State to the red-hot Georgia Tech to the out-of-nowhere No. 6 seed Virginia Tech. However, the top of the league might be too good to see anyone else bring home a title.

Duke is surprisingly outside the top four seeds and won't get a double bye, which could end up being important for this team. The Blue Devils' biggest problem is a lack of depth with only six or seven players stepping on the floor each game. Grayson Allen and Brandon Ingram are elite scorers, but they will certainly get tired playing 40 minutes on consecutive nights.

This could open a door for Notre Dame, which like Duke is as good as there is offensively but has some trouble on the defensive end. Unfortunately, the Irish have a difficult draw with likely matchups against Duke and North Carolina before the finals.

On the plus side, Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune reminded people they accomplished this same feat last year:

As for the No. 1 seed, North Carolina has tons of confidence after beating Duke to claim the outright ACC regular-season title. After falling short in tough games like this one, the Tar Heels proved to themselves and all doubters that they can get it done.

"We needed to beat a really good team on the road, win a good game, a tough game, outside of the Dean Dome," Marcus Paige said after Saturday's game, per ESPN.com's C.L. Brown. "For that to happen here—and also the rewards for winning this game—is something."

At its best, UNC is as talented as any in the nation with at least six different players who can take over a game offensively. Brice Johnson has been the best of the bunch, averaging 16.8 points and a league-best 10.8 rebounds per game this year. When this team attacks the basket and doesn't settle for jumpers, it is almost unstoppable.

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

On the bottom half of the bracket, the teams might be less notable, but they are just as formidable. Miami has had a strange year that combined losses to North Carolina State and Northeastern with wins over Virginia, Louisville and Duke. With veteran starters in Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan leading the way, though, this team can beat anyone in this tournament and bring home a second title in four years.

Still, one of the top contenders in the entire field is No. 2-seeded Virginia. The Cavaliers still run a so-called "boring" style of basketball with the slowest tempo in the country (351 out of 351), but it is also the most efficient, per KenPom.com.

The Virginia defense is almost impossible to penetrate, and Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill have turned themselves into quality scorers on the offensive end. London Perrantes has also transformed into an elite shooter on the perimeter, which gives the team yet another weapon.

Any of the top five teams in this tournament could win a title without too much surprise, while various other squads have the ability to make waves throughout the week. Upsets can and will happen, which only signifies that this is truly the start of March Madness.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for year-round sports analysis.