ACC tournament preview, bracket: Duke, Cooper Flagg look to extend conference dominance with eyes on NCAA title

The ACC tournament starts on Tuesday with plenty of intrigue.

Can anyone compete with Duke? Will the ACC produce more than three NCAA tournament teams? Can North Carolina salvage a disappointing season and secure an NCAA bid?

Here’s what to know about and what to watch for at the ACC tournament, including matchups, game times and TV.

3 storylines to watch

So far, so good for the season of Cooper Flagg. The freshman phenom and presumptive No. 1 NBA Draft pick has lived up to the enormous hype that he arrived with in Durham in a dominant season that will go down as one of the best for a freshman in Duke and ACC history.

And he’s not alone. A supporting cast featuring fellow NBA prospects Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel has helped power Duke to a dominant 19-1 run through ACC play and the nation’s largest scoring margin (22.1 points per game). It’s Duke and everyone else in Charlotte.

In a down year for the ACC, Clemson and Louisville are the only NCAA tournament locks outside of Duke. Clemson handed Duke its only ACC defeat of the season in a 77-71 win at home on Feb. 8. Duke beat Louisville on the road, 76-65 in their only meeting on Dec. 8. Can either mount a challenge to the Blue Devils in the ACC tournament?

It’s been a disappointing campaign for North Carolina, which started the season as the nation’s No. 9 team, but enters the ACC tournament on the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble. The Tar Heels finished strong by beating up ACC bottom-dwellers in a six-game winning streak before Saturday’s loss to Duke. They’ll need to impress this week with to advance to the NCAA tournament.

All times ET

When: March 11-15

Where: Spectrum Center | Charlotte, N.C.

TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPU, ACC Network

Game Schedule:

Tuesday March 11: First round

Game 1: No. 13 Pittsburgh vs. No. 12 Notre Dame, 2 p.m. | ACC Network

Game 2: No. 15 California vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech, 4:30 p.m. | ACC Network

Game 3: No. 14 Syracuse vs. No. 11 Florida State, 7. p.m. | ACC Network

Wednesday, March 12: Second round

Game 4: No. 9 Virginia vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech, noon | ESPN

Game 5: No. 5 North Carolina vs. Game 1 winner, 2:30 p.m. | ESPN

Game 6: No. 7 Stanford vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. | ESPN 2 or ESPNU

Game 7: No. 6 SMU vs. Game 3 winner, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2 or ESPNU

Thursday, March 13: Quarterfinals

Game 8: No. 1 Duke vs. Game 4 winner, noon | ESPN or ESPN2

Game 9: No. 4 Wake Forest vs. Game 5 winner, 2:30 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2

Game 10: No. 2 Louisville vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2

Game 11: No. 3 Clemson vs. Game 7 winner, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2

Friday, March 14: Semifinals

Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN2

Game 13 Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN 2

Saturday, March 15: Championship game

Game 12 winner vs. Game 13 winner, 8:30 p.m. | ESPN

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