2009 ACC Basketball Tournament

Printable & Viewable Bracket Link: 2009 ACC Mens Basketball Tournament Bracket

Participants/Overview: The 2009 Athletic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament features 12 teams. The top 4 conference records are awarded a bye into the quarterfinals. All other teams must win 4 games to win the automatic bid into the Big Dance.

This will be the 56th annual ACC Tournament. This season the venue moves to the Georgia Dome. Dont know if Georgia Dome officials are superstitious, but after what transpired at the SEC tournament in 2008, a change in which conference tournament they host can't hurt.

In the preseason all the talk was about the Big East Conference and how good it was. Meanwhile the ACC went under the radar. When the regular season ended, the ACC proved once again that they are king and the best overall conference in the country. The Atlantic Coast Conference has the best team in the nation North Carolina, along with 2 teams good enough to go deep and win the nation title in Duke and Wake Forest.

The Tar Heels are ultra talented but poorly coached. Coming into the season this team was rated 3-4 points above any other school in the nation by most prognosticators. While they are still #1 in our power rankings, the gap has closed to about even with top notch schools like Pittsburgh and Louisville. Most sharp guys wouldn't be surprised to see Roy Williams screw this up with all this NBA talent and it looks like he is on the path to do so.

With that being said the Tar Heels finished the season with a 13-3 conference record and should grab a number 1 seed. They won the conference regular season championship by 2 games over Wake Forest and Duke. They are an offensive juggernaut scoring over 90 points per game while outscoring teams by 18 points per game. They are led by Ty Lawson and Tyle Hansbrough both who were named to the all ACC first team.

The stiffest competition for UNC will come from Wake Forest and Duke. Both are hot with Duke winning 5 of their last 6 and Wake Forest winning 4 straight. Both teams are balanced, shoot the basketball well and play good defense. Things that make deep runs in March possible.

Other teams solidly in the tournament field of 65 include, Florida State, Clemson, and Boston College. Maryland is bubblicious and will need at least 2 wins, possibly 3 to grab an at large spot. Virginia Tech and Miami are also both close to snagging at large bids but will need deep runs to solidify those tournament aspirations. Their opening round game is basically an elimination game with the loser going dancing into the NIT.

Our prediction. Have to go with North Carolina as a quarterfinal matchup against Florida State looks to be a lot easier road to the finals than Duke playing Wake or vice versa. The Tar Heels have won 17 ACC tournament titles and are the favorite to win their 18th. Lets pray for good weather and no double headers.

Venue: Georgia Dome

Sponsors: None

Dates: March 12th-March 15th

TV: The entire tournament will be broadcast on the Raycom Lincoln Financial Sports network. For others, the first round prime time game will be on ESPN 2. On Friday for the Quarterfinals ESPN2 will show all 4 games. On Saturday for the Semifinals both games will be on ESPN, and finally for the Championship game ESPN will televise at 1:00 eastern time.

ACC Tournament Schedule
March 12th - Opening Round
March 13th - Quarterfinals
March 14th - Semifinals
March 15th - Championship
Click here for the updated Athletic Coast Conference tournament bracket

Last Years Winner
North Carolina. The Tar Heels made it back to back ACC conference tournament titles with a 86-81 win over the 3 seeded Clemson Tigers. The number 1 seeded Tar Heels were granted a #1 seed into the 2008 NCAA Mens basketball tournament where they made it to the final four before losing to the eventual National Champion Kansas Jayhawks.

Previous Years ACC Basketball Tournament Brackets
2008 Champion: North Carolina
2007 Champion: North Carolina
2006 Champion: Duke
2005 Champion: Duke
2004 Champion: Maryland

Off Site Links
Athletic Coast Conference Official Website
Georgia Dome Venue Website

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