2009 ACC Tournament Preview, Schedule and Team Rundown

The ACC Men's basketball tournament begins on Thursday, March 12, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. All 12 ACC teams will participate for the ACC Conference Championship.

The Favorite (Tier 1)

The ACC boasts several extremely strong teams, but the strongest out of all of them are the UNC Tar Heels. The Tar Heels are stacked, starting with one of the ACC's best players in its history, Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough averages 21.1 points and eight rebounds per game.

UNC's Tywon Lawson has a toe injury, so it remains to be seen how it will affect him with regards to this tournament. However, the Tar Heels possess great depth and are the odds-on favorite to win the tournament.

The Contenders (Tier 2)

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Duke Blue Devils form the upper end of Tier 2 of the ACC, as they are both compete teams with minor flaws. The Clemson Tigers and the Florida State Seminoles are tricky teams that could surprise, and they also are contenders in this tournament.

Wake Forest's trio of Jeff Teague, James Johnson, and Al-Farouq Aminu form a solid three-man star player group. Teague, Johnson, and Aminu have led the team in scoring almost the entire season. They will all be expected to produce big time numbers for a young but talented Wake Forest squad.

Duke also has a trio of their own in Gerald Henderson, Kyle Singler, and Jon Scheyer. All average over 14.3 points per game, and Singler leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game.

Both Wake Forest and Duke have legitimate chances to win the ACC Tournament.

Clemson finished the regular season ice cold, losing three out of their last four games. Florida State has a star player on their hands with guard Toney Douglas, but they likely lack the depth to win the ACC tournament.

It's a reach, but I would put Tyrese Rice and the Boston College Eagles in at the end of this group as well. That being said, Wake Forest and Duke have the most upside out of the five teams included here.

The Yawners (Tier 3)

The Maryland Terrapins, Miami Hurricanes, and Virginia Tech Hokies make up the yawners. All three teams seem to be on the outside looking in to the NCAA Tournament. That being said, there is likely a sleeper team in this group that will surprise some in the ACC Tournament.

I believe that the Miami Hurricanes are the sleeper team in this group. Led by experienced guard Jack McClinton, the team won three out of their last four to end the ACC regular season. If he can get even just a little support from the lineup around him, and McClinton is able to post a ton of points, the 'Canes have a chance to advance deep into the ACC Tournament.

The Bottom Feeders (Tier 4)

The NC State Wolfpack, Virginia Cavaliers, and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets round out the ACC Tournament. None of these teams have tremendous upside. Georgia Tech had a nice win in the second half of the season against Wake Forest, but did not win again until the second to last game in the ACC regular season.

One player to watch from this group is the Virginia Cavaliers' Sylven Landesberg. The Cavaliers' leader leads the team in points per game, and is among the leaders in rebounds per game and assists per game.

Here is the official schedule for the tournament.

ACC Tournament Schedule

First Round
Thursday, March 12
Game 1: No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 Miami, noon
Game 2: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 Maryland vs. No. 10 NC State, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 Boston College vs. No. 11 Virginia, 9:30 p.m.

Second Round (Quarterfinals)
Friday, March 13
Game 5: No. 1 North Carolina vs. Game 1 winner, noon
Game 6: No. 4 Florida State vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 Wake Forest vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 Duke vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.

Third Round (Semifinals)
Saturday, March 14
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 4 p.m.

Fourth Round (Championship)
Sunday, March 15
Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, ESPN, 1 p.m.

Source: http://www.theacc.com