ACC Tournament 2021: FSU vs. Georgia Tech TV Schedule, Live Stream, Predictions

An unusual year in the ACC will be capped off with an unusual championship match between the No. 2 seed Florida State Seminoles and the No. 4 seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

The matchup is a fitting end to an odd year in the ACC. Duke entered the conference tournament as a bubble team, North Carolina was the six-seed in the tourney and the whole event was affected by two programs facing COVID-19 protocols.

Duke's season effectively ended when its quarterfinal matchup with the Seminoles was canceled because of a positive test within the program. Then No. 1 seed Virginia was pulled from the tournament before it was supposed to play Georgia Tech in the semifinal Friday.

All of those events, plus the games that have unfolded, leave Florida State going for its first conference tournament championship since 2012. Georgia Tech will be making its first appearance in the championship game since 2010 and hasn't won it since 1993.

So while Virginia waits to find out whether it can pass protocol in time to play in the tournament, the Seminoles and the Yellow Jackets will battle to claim the title of men's ACC champion in 2021.

ACC Tournament Information

Date: Saturday, March 13

Start Time: 8:30 p.m. ET 

TV: ESPN 

Live Stream: ACC Network or ESPN app

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Prediction

Georgia Tech 75, Florida State 70

Josh Pastner has yet to lead Georgia Tech to the NCAA men's basketball tournament since taking over the program in 2016. But even if Tech doesn't find a way to win the championship, it should be in the tourney.

The Yellow Jackets are playing their best basketball of the season and peaking at the right time. Even without the opportunity to prove themselves against Virginia, they have done some good resume building lately. They have won seven in a row going into the championship game, including road wins against Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. A 70-66 win against Miami in the quarterfinals was closer than the Jackets would probably have liked.

They turned a four-point halftime deficit into a four-point victory. Jose Alvarado showcased his mettle in that game; after going down with a knee injury in the first half, he gutted it out in the second and ended up dropping 13 points with three steals.

Big man Moses Wright was notably quiet in that game. He had just seven points and six rebounds with five fouls. He will have to step things up against the Seminoles.

Georgia Tech beat Florida State earlier in the season, and the 23 points, seven rebounds and six steals they got from Wright was a big reason for that win on January 30.

Leonard Hamilton's Florida State team is coming into the championship game as the No. 2 seed, but it has been a little inconsistent of late, losing two of its three games going into the tournament.

Those losses came to Notre Dame and North Carolina on the road. However, the Seminoles' win over the Tar Heels on Friday shows they are playing a better level at this point.

Something to watch in Saturday's matchup is how well Florida State takes care of the ball. Pastner threw a combination of looks at the Seminoles last time that forced more than 20 turnovers and gave Georgia Tech enough of an edge to take home the win.

The Seminoles were again lackadaisical taking care of the ball against North Carolina in the semifinals. They weren't able to put them away until late in the game because they committed 18 turnovers while only dishing out 11 assists as a team.

Georgia Tech has played just one game all week and should have the fresh legs to take advantage of sloppy play if Florida State doesn't bring its best.