2021 ACC Tournament: Bracket, info, schedule and more

The regular season is officially over, and the UNC basketball program will now shift their focus on this week’s ACC Tournament.

Roy Williams and the UNC basketball program ended the regular season on a very high note, as they celebrated “Senior Day” by defeating arch-rival Duke in dominating fashion.

Now that the regular season is officially over, it’s time to focus on this week’s ACC Tournament.

The official ACC Tournament bracket is now set, and here’s what it looks like:

Tuesday, March 9 – First Round

Game 1 — No. 12 Pitt vs. No. 13 Miami (ACC Network) (2 p.m.)
Game 2 — No. 10 Duke vs. No. 15 Boston College (ACC Network) (4:30 p.m.)
Game 3 — No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Wake Forest (ACC Network) (7 p.m.)

Wednesday, March 10 – Second Round

Game 4 ‚— No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 9 NC State (ACC Network) (Noon)
Game 5 —  No. 5 Clemson vs. Pitt/Miami winner (ACC Network) (2:30 p.m.)
Game 6 —  No. 7 Louisville vs. Duke/Boston College winner (ACC Network) (6:30 p.m)
Game 7 —  No. 6 North Carolina vs. Notre Dame/Wake Forest winner (ACC Network) (9 p.m.)

Thursday, March 11 – Quarterfinals

Game 8 —  No. 1 Virginia vs. Wednesday Noon winner (ESPN or ESPN2) (Noon)
Game 9 — No. 4 Georgia Tech vs. Game 5 winner (ESPN or ESPN2) (2:30 p.m.)
Game 10 —  No. 2 Florida State vs. Game 6 (ESPN or ESPN2) (6:30 p.m.)
Game 11 — No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. Game 7 (ESPN or ESPN2) (9 p.m.)

Friday, March 12 – Semifinals

Game 12 — Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner (ESPN or ESPN2) (6:30 p.m. )
Game 13 — Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner (ESPN or ESPN2) (9 p.m.)

Saturday, March 13 – Championship

Game 14 – Semifinal winners (ESPN) (8:30 p.m.)

Saturday night’s game against Duke had meaning for the Tar Heels. With the possibility of being either the six or seven seed in this year’s bracket, North Carolina’s victory secured the six-seed in this year’s bracket.

The top four seeds get a “double-bye,” which unfortunately the Tar Heels missed out on. However, they will get a first-round bye, as they will not have to play until the second round of the tournament.

North Carolina will face the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 11 seed Notre Dame and No. 14 Wake Forrest. Tip-off for the Tar Heels ACC Tournament opener is scheduled for 9:00 PM EST.

If you’re looking at the matchups, the Tar Heels have had success against both programs this year. North Carolina edged out a 66-65 victory over Notre Dame on January 2, and pulled off a 80-73 victory over Wake Forrest on January 20. Both contests took place in Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels lost just one game this season.

In terms of the first-round matchup, Notre Dame has the upper hand heading into this one. In their only matchup this season, Mike Brey’s Fighting Irish pulled off a convincing 79-58 victory over the Demon Deacons.

If the Tar Heels are able to advance to the quarterfinals, they would match up with the No. 3 seed Virginia Tech. North Carolina was supposed to take on the Hokies in Chapel Hill on February 16, but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

With the way the bracket is set up, you can make the case that the Tar Heels have a chance to make a run in this tournament. Here’s how North Carolina fared against the teams on their side of the bracket:

Teams Playing in the First Round:

Duke: 2-0
Boston College: DNP

Notre Dame: 1-0
Wake Forrest: 1-0

Teams with a First Round Bye:

Louisville: 1-0

Teams with a Double-Bye:

Florida State: 1-1

Virginia Tech: DNP

Overall: 6-1

Now, the regular season success against these teams doesn’t necessarily translate to wins in this tournament, but it’s a good sign to see the Tar Heels have had success against the majority of the teams on their side of the field.

The Tar Heels had six total ACC losses this season (we don’t want to remind you about some of those!). Five of the teams that handed North Carolina conference losses this season just happen to be on the top-half of the bracket for the ACC Tournament. Florida State is the only team team that North Carolina could matchup with before the finals that has beaten them this season.

Of course, it won’t be easy by any means. However, if the Tar Heels play at the level they showcased on Saturday night in Chapel Hill, we could see a lot of Tar Heels basketball this upcoming week.

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates regarding the UNC basketball program and this week’s ACC Tournament action.