University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Enter ACC Tournament As Top Seed
March 6, 2017 | Men's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL—North Carolina enters the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament as the top seed and receives a double bye to Thursday's quarterfinal round. The Tar Heels will open tournament play at noon on Thursday against the winner of the contest between No. 8 seed Syracuse and No. 9 seed Miami.
The 64th annual New York Life ACC Tournament will be played Tuesday through Saturday at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
Regular-season champion and defending ACC Tournament champion Carolina (26-6 overall, 14-4 ACC) will be the top-seeded team for the 26th time. The Tar Heels will receive a double-bye along with No. 2 seed Florida State (24-7 12-6), No. 3 Notre Dame (23-8, 12-6) and No. 4 Louisville (24-7, 12-6).
The tournament opens Tuesday with three first-round games. No. 12 Clemson (16-14, 6-12) faces No. 13 NC State (15-16, 4-14) at noon, followed by No. 10 Wake Forest (18-12, 9-9) versus No. 15 Boston College (2-16, 9-22) at 2 p.m. No. 11 seed Georgia Tech (17-14, 8-10) faces No. 14 Pitt (15-16, 4-14) at 7 p.m.
Fifth-seeded Duke (23-8, 11-7), No. 6 Virginia (21-9, 11-7), No. 7 Virginia Tech (21-9, 10-8), No. 8 Syracuse (18-13, 10-8) and No.9 Miami (20-10, 10-8) will see their first tournament action on Wednesday. Syracuse and Miami will square off at noon, while Duke, Virginia and Virginia Tech will meet the winners of Tuesday's three first-round games.
Wednesday's winners will advance to face the tournament's four top seeded teams in Thursday's quarterfinal round.
The 2017 New York Life ACC Tournament will culminate with a pair of semifinal games on Friday night and the championship game on Saturday evening. This year's championship game is set for a primetime 9 p.m. start.
The last six ACC Tournaments (2011-16) have produced six different champions.
All 14 tournament games will be nationally televised on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU and the ACC Network (ACCN). All games will also be available via WatchESPN and TheACC.com.
The full schedule for the 2017 New York Life ACC Tournament:
Tuesday, March 7
First round
Noon – No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 13 NC State (ESPN2/ACC Network)
2 p.m. – No. 10 Wake Forest vs. No. 15 Boston College (ESPN2/ACC Network)
7 p.m. – No. 11 Georgia Tech vs. No. 14 Pitt (ESPNU/ACC Network)
Wednesday, March 8
Second round
Noon – No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 9 Miami (ESPN/ACC Network)
2 p.m. – No. 5 Duke vs. Tuesday noon winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
7 p.m. – No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. Tuesday 2 p.m. winner (ESPN2/ACC Network)
9 p.m. – No. 6 Virginia vs. Tuesday 7 p.m. winner (ESPN2/ACC Network)
Thursday, March 9
Quarterfinals
Noon – No. 1 North Carolina vs. Wednesday noon winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
2 p.m. – No. 4 Louisville vs. Wednesday 2 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
7 p.m. – No. 2 Florida State vs. Wednesday 7 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
9 p.m. – No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Wednesday 9 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
Friday, March 10
Semifinals
7 p.m. – Thursday afternoon winners (ESPN or ESPN2/ACC Network)
9 p.m. – Thursday evening winners (ESPN or ESPN2/ACC Network)
Saturday, March 11
Championship
9 p.m. – Friday evening winners (ESPN/ACC Network)
(from ACC Media Relations)
