ACC basketball preview heading into the 2026-27 season.
After being the standard for college basketball, the ACC has found itself on the bottom end of the Power 5 rankings more often than the top. Last year, Duke ran away with it, going 17-1 in conference play in large part to ACC and college basketball player of the year Cameron Boozer. Eight teams represented the conference in the NCAA Tournament, but only one reached the second weekend. That was, of course, Duke, who suffered the heartbreaking loss to UConn.
There are a few new coaching faces to know. Luke Murray, the former UConn assistant, takes over at Boston College. Tennessee’s associate head coach Justin Gainey returns to his alma mater to lead NC State following Will Wade’s departure. Troy coach Scott Cross will look to lead Georgia Tech back to the tournament. Gerry McNamara returns to his alma mater, hoping to take his Syracuse Orange to a national championship as he did as a player. Last but not least, of course, is Michael Malone, who gives college basketball and UNC a try after an NBA championship with the Nuggets.
Just looking at offseason rosters and projections, there seems to be a clear top and a clear bottom. We’ll see how those middle teams can perform, and if they can crown a winner for the first time since 2019, when Virginia took home the title.
ACC basketball projected standings
1. Duke Blue Devils
No surprise here, Duke is once again the best team in the ACC and maybe even college basketball. They return three starters from last year’s team: Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II, and Dame Sarr, as well as Cayden Boozer, who is more known for his lowest point, but had tons of high points as a freshman.
Then, they add John Blackwell from Wisconsin, who averaged 19 points a game last year, and the #1 draft class in college basketball, highlighted by #4 overall prospect Cameron Williams and 17-year-old phenom Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje. From a depth perspective, no one comes close, and Jon Scheyer has proven himself as a worthy successor to Coach K. Don’t be surprised if this Duke team runs away with the ACC once again.
2. Virginia Cavaliers
Coach Odom only knows how to win, and in year one he did just that. Virginia won 30 games and finished second in the ACC, ensuring that the Virginia basketball program won’t skip a beat post-Tony Bennett. Like Duke, Virginia brings back three starters, including Thijs De Ridder, the team’s leading scorer. They might be more excited to bring back Chance Mallory, though, who many see as this year’s breakout star after a solid freshman campaign. Johann Grunloh returns as well as the shot-blocking force down low.
This team will be great on both ends of the ball, and the additions of Jurian Dixon and Christian Harmon add experience and depth. Duke is on their own tier, but Virginia is the leader of the second tier of teams that could and should be top 15 teams all season long and Final Four contenders.
3. Miami Hurricanes
Jai Lucas knocked it out of the park last year, finishing in third after being picked eighth in the ACC preseason poll. Miami fans hope to have the 37-year-old for a very long time, especially after the roster he built this offseason. They return star freshman Shelton Henderson and pair him with Villanova’s star freshman in Acaden Lewis. Somto Cyril comes in from Georgia to add rim protection, and they picked up Malik Reneau late, who is a 5-in-5 player. If he’s eligible, he can be an All-American player.
The bench is rock solid, adding two double-digit scorers in DeSean Goode and Brent Bland, and they add a national champion in LJ Cason. The ceiling for this team is high, especially if the 5-in-5 players are eligible.
4. Louisville Cardinals
From a talent standpoint, this team is definitely capable of finishing second. They bring in Flory Bidunga from Kansas, the big man who is arguably the best defender in college basketball, and pair him with experienced Oregon point guard Jackson Shelstad. Pair them with Adrian Wooley, Alvaro Folguieras, and Karter Knox, and you have one of the best starting lineups in college basketball.
There are a few question marks with this team, like Seth Trimble’s eligibility (he’s currently ineligible) and Shelstad’s health after missing most of last season. If everything clicks, though, this is another roster capable of a final four.
5. North Carolina Tar Heels
UNC starts the next tier of teams that should be tournament teams, just not necessarily deep tournament teams. The Michael Malone hire was definitely shocking, and while he has the NBA pedigree, he has never coached college basketball, which is obviously very different. The roster looks solid, bringing in 20 PPG scorer Terrence Brown from Utah, and two-way wing Jarin Stevenson. Sharpshooter Matt Able stays in-state as well, transferring from North Carolina.
One of the more interesting players is Neo Avdalas. He showed flashes, but also struggled his freshman year; his level of play might be the difference maker for whether this team finishes top five or a few spots down. The Hubert Davis tenure ended on a sour note, but hopefully Coach Malone can get this program back to Roy Williams levels. It probably just won’t be in year one.
6. Clemson Tigers
Clemson never has the sexiest roster, but they get it done. They finished tied for fourth in ACC basketball play, and won 24 games overall. Brad Brownell has a system that wins, and we shouldn’t expect anything different until he shows that. Expect Dillon Hunter to lead a slow-paced, calculated offense, while bigs like Carter Whelling and Dylan Faulkner lead the defense.
Again, the ceiling isn’t as high as some of the teams below them, but the floor is one of the best in the ACC, and once again we should expect 25+ wins and a comfortable spot in the NCAA Tournament.
7. Virginia Tech Hokies
Can this be the final year for Mike Young? Virginia Tech hasn’t won a tournament game since Young was hired 8 years ago, and has only made it twice. Returners Amani Hansburry and Ben Hammond are hoping to break that streak, and they’re more than capable of it. Both averaged over 13 PPG last year for the Hokies. Tyler Johnson also returns, and they’re hoping he will have a big year with a bigger role.
The rest of the roster definitely raises some questions. Will the defense be strong enough? How will the bench look? This team is more talented than last year’s, but we’ll see if it’s good enough to earn them a spot in the tournament.
8. SMU Mustangs
SMU lost all three of their stacked guard trio, but they brought in one of the best from the portal in Rowan Brumbaugh, who averaged 19 a game at Tulane. They’ll pair him with the talented Jaden Toombs, who had a solid freshman year at SMU. The bench leaves a lot to be desired, but those two plus Big East transfers Jaylin Stewart and Oziyah Sellers should have them back where they usually find themselves: on the bubble.
9. NC State Wolfpack
Many saw the Gainey hire as a panic hire after Will Wade surprisingly left after just one season, but the alum is excited to be back, and he brought in a pretty talented roster. Paul McNeil is the lone returner who could easily average 17-20 PPG, and adding Kyle Evans, last year’s leading shot blocker in college basketball, to anchor the defense is a great addition. Keep an eye out for Christian Hammond, the Santa Clara transfer who averaged 15 PPG last year.
This team has a ton of scoring options, with seven players averaging 10+ points per game at their respective programs last year. The defense could look shaky outside of Evans, which might cost them a few games down the stretch. This is probably the team that can have the biggest swing in final standing. They might get up to five, but they can also definitely fall to 11. Keep an eye on this Wolfpack team.
10. Florida State Seminoles
This is probably the first team in the standings that doesn’t look like a tournament-level roster. The beginning of the season was rough for Luke Loucks and Florida State, but they finished really strong at 10-8. This might be the case again this season, but in ACC play, they should be able to get off to a better start. They have a ton of high-upside players that haven’t been able to capitalize, like two-way guard Anthony Robinson and former top-30 recruit Shon Abaev.
Kam Taylor averaged 19 a game last year, and while he won’t be as good as Robert McCray IV was, they’ll look to him to get buckets quite often. Outside of him, the offense looks questionable, but Louks is an offense-minded coach who will find ways to score points this year.
11. Syracuse Orange
While it didn’t take much to convince Syracuse to hire their national champion guard, the round of 64 clash Siena had against Duke that they nearly won was the cherry on top. He brings with him his superstar Gavin Doty, who was the MAAC player of the year, and adds double-double machine Amarri Monroe, who, as of now, is eligible.
Kiyan Anthony, who is of course Carmelo Anthony’s son, is back for year two, and hopefully he can take that sophomore leap. If he doesn’t, they have Garway Dual, the McNeese transfer who has been a part of a winning culture the past few years. There is a little concern about the lack of power conference talent on this team. Every transfer is a mid-major transfer, but they were good there, and hopefully for Orange fans, it translates.
12. Stanford Cardinal
From a roster budget standpoint, this team is most likely dead last. However, Kyle Smith always seems to do more with less, and that was reflected last year, when they were 10th in the conference with 22 wins. They won’t have Ebuka Okorie, unfortunately, who was unbelievable last year. But they brought in Christian Bliss, who they think could play a similar role to him.
If Nick Townsend is eligible, then the floor rises even higher after he averaged 16 a game at Yale. Plus, if you want to feel old, you can watch freshman Aziz Olajuwon, who is the son of NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon. Again, far from the most talented roster on paper, Kyle Smith finds ways to win, and that’s the difference-maker between them and the teams below them.
13. Pittsburgh Panthers
The opposite of Stanford, Jeff Capel and Pitt seem to constantly underperform. Last year, they went 5-13 in conference play, making it Capel’s seventh season out of eight where they missed the tournament. This could be his last year with the program, but many have said that same sentence the past few offseasons.
This team does have a lot of players with high upside. Jahlil Bathea was a top 10 recruit out of high school, but hasn’t been able to figure it out at Miami and Alabama. Baye Ndongo is an elite defender, but hasn’t been part of a winning program. A’lahn Sumler averaged 19 a game, but it was at a Charleston Southern team that finished 7th in the conference.
The list goes on, but if Capel can find a way to maximize these guys’ ability, then there’s something to work with here. History has said otherwise, though, so don’t be surprised when Pitt inevitably finds itself towards the bottom of the standings.
14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Another coach likely on the hot seat, Micah Shrewberry has yet to have a winning season at Notre Dame. You can blame injuries, but at some point there needs to be some result, and it hasn’t shown. He loses his star guard, Markus Burton, and is hoping that his two bigs, Ethan Roberts and Logan Duncomb, will be the scoring workhorses, as they were at Penn and Winthrop.
Braeden Shrewberry is still there, and he’s going to take and make a lot of threes, and Braeden Smith (no, not that one) should be more of a facilitator instead of a scorer as a point guard, which is different from what we’ve seen with past Shrewberry teams. Some decent pieces without a doubt, but the winning hasn’t shown, and it’s not fair to assume that will change with this roster.
15. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Make that three coaches in a row who are likely on the hot seat. Steve Forbes is definitely the best coach of the three, but with zero NCAA tournament appearances in six years as head coach, the patience eventually runs out. This roster is very uninspiring. Kevair Kennedy won conference player of the year as a freshman at Kennesaw State, and he can build on that and be a star.
Outside of that, it’s bleak. The defense should be good in Forbes’ system, which will keep them in games, but the offense could be the worst in the ACC.
16. Boston College Eagles
This program doesn’t belong in a power conference for basketball, and hasn’t made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009. While that won’t change this year, most likely, Luke Murray can steer them in the right direction after experiencing two championships at UConn. The roster is fun, with high-volume scorers in Money Williams and Ernest Shelton from Montana and Merrimack. Murray also brought Jacob Furphy with him, who could be great after rarely seeing the floor his freshman year at UConn.
With all that being said, the defense will be horrendous. It is the worst in the ACC, and quite possibly the worst of the power conference teams. We might see a few games hit triple digits from both sides, and the lack of great defenders means that they’ll lose a lot, and it might get ugly.
17. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Scott Cross was the right hire, and his coaching ability can probably jump them a few spots in the rankings. This team falls into the same category as Boston College, where they have fun offensive pieces, but no defensive pieces. The only difference is that the BC offensive guys are better and the Georgia Tech defensive guys are worse.
Coby Garland and Nasir Whitlock both averaged 20 points at the mid-major level, and Victor Valdes was a terrific piece that Scott Cross brought with him from Troy. They have zero rim protection, though, and the perimeter defense doesn’t look much better. It may take a few years for Cross to build this program up, but the first year might be ugly.
18. California Bears
After two seasons with losing records, Mark Madsen finally turned it around last year, winning 22 games. He will unfortunately need to put on the coaching performance of his life if he wants to get back to 22 wins, because the lack of NIL caught up to him hard, and the roster he’s left with doesn’t look like one of an ACC team.
Michael Cooper is the only player on this roster who averaged double digits last year, and it was at Wright State. They don’t have a clear lead guard either. Defense will be fine, but the offense is a scary sight.
CBB Review Preseason ACC Basketball Player of the Year
Flory Bidunga, Louisville
Duke might have too many options where no individual player stands out as the player of the year, which will benefit Flory. Bidunga is already one of the best defenders in college basketball, and with Shelstad feeding him, he can take that leap offensively as well.
CBB Review Preseason ACC Basketball Coach of the Year
Jon Scheyer, Duke
There might be a little voting fatigue since Scheyer won this last year, but Duke is the clear best team in the conference and will win it easily.
CBB Review Preseason ACC Basketball Freshman of the Year
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Duke
Again, the depth of this team might bury Boumtje Boumtje a bit, but he’s the best freshman in the ACC purely from a talent standpoint. Don’t be surprised if his teammate, Deron Rippey Jr., steals the title from him.
CBB Review Preseason ACC Basketball Transfer of the Year
Flory Bidunga, Louisville
The conference player of the year is naturally the transfer of the year as well. Expect him to have a big role with the Cardinal and to have them in a position to compete for a national title.
CBB Review Preseason ACC Basketball First Team
- G: Shelton Henderson, Miami
- G: John Blackwell, Duke
- F: Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Duke
- F: Thijs De Ridder, Virginia
- C: Flory Bidunga, Louisville
CBB Review Preseason ACC Basketball Second Team
- G: Chance Mallory, Virginia
- G: Acaden Lewis, Miami
- F: Amani Hansberry, Virginia Tech
- F: Malik Reneau, Miami
- C: Patrick Ngongba, Duke
CBB Review Preseason ACC Basketball Third Team
- G: Jackson Shelstad, Louisville
- G: Paul McNeil Jr., NC State
- G: Rowan Brumbaugh, SMU
- F: Neoklis Avdalas, UNC
- F: Jarin Stevenson, UNC
CBB Review Preseason ACC Basketball All-Freshmen Team
- G: Derron Rippey Jr., Duke
- F: Zak Smrekar, Boston College
- F: Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Duke
- F: Cameron Williams, Duke
- C: Seyon Keita, UNC