Full ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket, schedule finalized

Despite a demoralizing loss to the Clemson Tigers on Saturday, the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team still wound up being the No. 6 seed in the 2019 ACC Tournament.

SU’s 10-8 record bested Louisville’s by way of a head-to-head tiebreaker. It’s the best seed the Orange have received since their first year in the conference in 2013-14, when they finished second (only to lose to NC State in the quarterfinals...).

Since joining the league, it’s been well-documented that Syracuse hasn’t played well in this event, going 0-3 over the first four years — including a self-imposed ban in 2015 — before beating Wake Forest last March and going 1-1 overall with a loss to UNC in the quarterfinals.

This time around, Syracuse likely has to go 1-1 once again to feel reasonably certain about their odds to be chosen for the NCAA Tournament. A loss in game one could be fine. But why play with fire if we don’t have to, right?

The ACC Tournament gets started next Tuesday, March 12 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. We’ll have James on-site starting Wednesday for Syracuse’s first game. That opponent is still TBD, but will be either 11-seed Boston College or 14-seed Pittsburgh. SU was 4-0 against those teams this year — the first time they’d swept both permanent rivals in their respective home-and-home series since they joined the league.

Bracket’s below, but we’ve spelled everything out in text as well. You can also read up on all of the details on the ACC’s website.

For those that don’t like images:

(all times ET)

Tuesday, March 12

Noon: No. 12 Miami Hurricanes vs. No. 13 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (ESPN/Raycom)

2 p.m.: No. 10 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (ESPN/Raycom)

7 p.m.: No. 11 Boston College Eagles vs. No. 14 Pittsburgh Panthers (ESPNU/Raycom)

Wednesday, March 13

Noon: No. 8 NC State Wolfpack vs. No. 9 Clemson Tigers (ESPN/Raycom)

2 p.m.: No. 5 Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Miami/Wake Forest (ESPN/Raycom)

7 p.m.: No. 7 Louisville Cardinals vs. Georgia Tech/Notre Dame (ESPN2/Raycom)

9 p.m.: No. 6 Syracuse Orange vs. Boston College/Pitt (ESPN2/Raycom)

Thursday, March 14

12:30 p.m.: No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers vs. NC State/Clemson (ESPN/ESPN2/Raycom)

2:30 p.m.: No. 4 Florida State Seminoles vs. Virginia Tech/Miami/Wake Forest (ESPN/ESPN2/Raycom)

7 p.m.: No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Louisville/Georgia Tech/Notre Dame (ESPN/ESPN2/Raycom)

9 p.m.: No. 3 Duke vs. Syracuse/Boston College/Pitt (ESPN/ESPN2/Raycom)

Friday, March 15

7 p.m.: Winner of Virginia game vs. winner of FSU game (ESPN/ESPN2/Raycom)

9 p.m.: Winner of UNC game vs. winner or Duke game (ESPN or ESPN2/Raycom)

Satruday, March 16

8:30 p.m.: Championship Game (ESPN/Raycom)

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We’ll have plenty more during the week. But are you happy with Syracuse’s potential path to the ACC Tournament title game? Share your gripes or positive assessments below.