2026 ACC Men’s Tournament: Schedule, Bracket, Recent History, TV/Streaming Info
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2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Basics
FormatA traditional bracket with 15 teams, the same one the ACC has used since Notre Dame joined in 2017 (other than years when a team did not participate due to sanctions).
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SiteThe Spectrum Center will host for the second season in a row, with last year’s event the first time the home of the Charlotte Hornets hosted since 2019. Between 2026 and 2029, the Spectrum Center and the First Horizon (Greensboro) Coliseum will alternate.
Note that this season’s sessions are flipped from their usual order—since Duke and North Carolina are the No. 1 and 4 seeds, respectively, the top half of the bracket will play in the evening sessions.
ParticipantsThe ACC expanded from 15 to 18 with the additions of California and Stanford from the Pac-12 and SMU from the American Athletic. However, the conference tournament field stayed put at 15, confounding many. This decision (and the one the Big Ten originally made to only go up to 15 from 14) was made for competitive balance purposes—an attempt to match how byes are distributed by the 16-team SEC and Big 12.
- In a 16-team conference, it’s easy to ensure the top half of the conference (eight teams) earn at least a bye. All you need to do is implement the old Big East double-bye format that gives the top four teams a bye to the quarterfinals and teams five through eight a single bye to the second round.
- The ACC and Big Ten could have gone with a 16-team bracket, with the top eight teams getting a double-bye. However, in an 18-member conference, eight isn’t quite half the league membership. By setting the field at 15, the 8 and 9 seeds meet in the second round, skipping the first. That ensures that finishing in the top half of the regular-season table guarantees a bye.
All this means that Notre Dame (13-18, 4-14, t-16th), Boston College (11-20, 4-14, t-16th); and Georgia Tech (11-20, 2-16, 18th) aren’t headed to Charlotte. This was the Eagles’ second ACC Tournament miss in a row.
Schedule
Downloadable PDF BracketFirst Round (Tues. 3/10)Gm. 1:(15) Pitt 64, (10) Stanford (20-12, 9-9) 63
Gm. 2: (14) Syracuse (15-17, 6-12) 69, (11) SMU 86
Gm. 3: (13) Wake Forest 95 , (12) Virginia Tech (19-13, 8-10) 89 (OT)
Gm. 4: (15) Pitt (13-19, 5-13 vs. (7) NC State (19-12, 10-8), 12 (ESPN)
The Wolfpack won 81-72 in Pittsburgh on 1/24.
Gm. 5: (11) SMU (20-12, 8-10) vs. (6) Louisville (22-9, 11-7), 2:30* (ESPN)
Home split: Cardinals 88-74 on 1/31 and Mustangs 95-85 on 2/17.
Gm. 6: (9) California (21-10, 9-9) vs. (8) Florida State (17-14, 10-8), 7 (ESPN2)
The Seminoles won 63-61 in Tallahassee on 1/28.
Gm. 7: (13) Wake Forest (17-15, 7-11) vs. (5) Clemson (22-9, 12-6), 9:30* (ESPN2)
The Demon Deacons won 85-77 in Winston-Salem on 2/18.
Gm. 8: Gm. 4 winner vs. (2) Virginia (27-4, 15-3), 12 (ESPN/2)
Gm. 9: Gm. 5 winner vs. (3) Miami (Fla.) (24-7, 13-5), 2:30* (ESPN/2)
Gm. 10: Gm. 6 winner vs. (1) Duke (29-2, 17-1), 7 (ESPN/2)
Gm. 11: Gm. 7 winner vs. (4) North Carolina (24-7, 12-6), 9:30* (ESPN/2)
Gm. 12: Gm. 8 winner vs. Gm. 9 winner, 7 (ESPN/2)
Gm. 13: Gm. 10 winner vs. Gm. 11 winner, 9:30* (ESPN/2)
Gm. 14: Semifinal winners, 8:30 (ESPN)
Mayhem Potential
Data originally posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitterin 2020 with my own additions for the seasons beyond.
Since the NCAA field expanded to 68 in 2011, the No. 1 or 2 seed has only won the ACC Tournament six times. In fact, the 5, 7, and 10 seeds have as many titles as the 2 over that span, including NC State’s 2024 run from ACC Tuesday to Final Four Saturday.
- 1 seed (5): 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2025
- 3 seed (3): 2012. 2015, 2019
- 4 seed (2): 2021, 2023
- 2 seed (1): 2011
- 5 seed (1): 2017
- 7 seed (1): 2022
- 10 seed (1): 2024
NCAA Bid Totals In The 68-Team Era
- 9 bids (2): 2017 (11-8 record, North Carolina national champion, 15 teams),2018 (12-9 record, 15 teams)
- 7 bids (3): 2021 (4-7 record, 15 teams),2016 (19-7 record, 14 eligible teams), 2019 (15-6 record, Virginia national champion, 15 teams)
- 6 bids (2): 2015 (17-5 record, Duke national champion, 14 eligible teams), 2014 (6-6 record, 15 teams)
- 5 bids (4): 2012 (6-5 record, 12 teams), 2022 (14-5 record, 15 teams), 2023 (7-5 record, 15 teams), 2024 (12-5 record, 15 teams)
- 4 bids (3): 2011 (8-4 record, 12 teams), 2013 (6-4 record, 12 teams), 2025 (5-4 record, 18 teams)
The ACC racked up 14 tournament wins in 2022, thanks to North Carolina’s run to the title game, Duke’s visit to the Final Four, and Miami’s Elite Eight appearance. That number dropped to seven in 2023, with Miami’s Final Four appearance accounting for the majority of them. Then, in 2024, there was a rebound to 12, thanks to NC State’s four wins; Clemson and Duke reaching the Elite Eight; and North Carolina’s Sweet 16 appearance. That number fell all the way down to five in 2025, and National Semifinalist Duke was responsible for four of those.
Last Conference Tournament Titles
Duke: 2025 (1 seed)
NC State: 2024 (10 seed)
Virginia Tech: 2022 (7 seed)
Georgia Tech: 2021 (4 seed)
Virginia: 2018 (1 seed)
SMU: 2017 (1 seed, American)
North Carolina: 2016 (1 seed)
Notre Dame: 2015 (3 seed)
Louisville: 2014 (2 seed, American Athletic, vacated)
Miami: 2013 (1 seed)
Florida State: 2012 (3 seed)
Pittsburgh: 2008 (7 seed, Big East)
Syracuse: 2006 (9 seed, Big East)
Stanford: 2004(1 seed, Pac-12)
Boston College: 2001 (East 1 seed, Big East)
Wake Forest: 1996 (2 seed)
Virginia Tech: 1979 (4 seed, Metro)
Clemson: 1939 (Southern Conference)
The three newcomers and holdovers Boston College, Clemson, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse are all still in search of their first ACC Tournament titles. California, 1959 NCAA champion, has never won a conference tournament title of any kind.