After years of decline, a low point during this regular season, and an embarrassing loss by Virginia in a First Four game, ACC basketball is back on top of the hoops world.
After the First Four, teams from the conference are a perfect 8-0 in the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, and NC State have all advanced to the Sweet 16. There’s been a good mix of winning within that group. UNC has been a dominant No. 1 seed, while NC State is the lone Cinderella team standing.
Eight wins by ACC basketball squads is more than any other conference. The closest is the Big 12 with seven victories, but that conference also has six losses. The Big East also deserves props, with a 6-0 record, but if you look at games within the actual bracket of 64, the ACC is also undefeated.
Four teams in the Sweet 16 is also more than any other conference. That’s even more impressive when you consider the fact that four conferences received more bids than the ACC.
This dominance isn’t new. Since 2019, when many would say the ACC has been on a decline, the highest win percentage in March Madness belongs to… you guessed it, the ACC. The most Sweet 16 appearances? The ACC. The most Final Fours? The ACC, yet again.
With all of this taken into account, it’s clear that more ACC basketball teams deserved NCAA Tournament bids. Wake Forest should have made it. Pittsburgh was capable of a tournament run. These teams had resumes that would get them in if they were in another conference, but the ACC doesn’t get the respect it deserves.
The ACC is no longer in decline. Instead, it has proven yet again that it’s the best basketball conference in the nation. No question about it.
