It’s Championship Week and that only means one thing, March Madness is here! All week long teams across the nation will take part in their respective conference tournaments for a shot to play on college basketball’s grandest stage. So far, eleven teams have punched their automatic tickets with another twenty-one to be handed out by Sunday. While most smaller leagues only send their tournament champs to the big dance, the top conferences will send a lot of schools via at-large bids. Some of these schools already know their fate and are just going through the motions and trying to stay healthy for the NCAA Tournament. This can produce some interesting results as there are other teams fighting for their postseason lives and are in win or go home mode.

The ACC is projected to get anywhere between eight and ten teams in the big dance, so a lot of schools already know they’re in and are just playing for seeding. Right now eight teams are considered locks (UNC, FSU, Notre Dame, Virginia, Duke, Louisville, Virginia Tech, and Miami) while three teams (Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Clemson) need to continue to win to get in. The Orange are closest to locking up a spot and should be in regardless of what they do in Brooklyn this week. However, a win against Miami would clinch the Orange’s spot in the big dance. Wake Forest won yesterday over 15th seeded Boston College, but could use a quality win to help get them on more secure footing heading into Selection Sunday. The Demon Deacons will get a chance to pick up that win tonight with a game against Virginia Tech.

With all that being said there can only be one winner on Saturday and there are still twelve teams in the hunt for the ACC Championship. So here are my predictions for every game remaining in the ACC Tournament.

March 8th

#8 Syracuse vs. #9 Miami– Miami finished their season strong with eight wins in their final 12 games, including home victories over both Duke and North Carolina, as well as a hard-fought road win over Virginia. This strong finish put the Hurricanes in the safe category heading into March and the only thing they can gain with a win is maybe a bump in seeding and a date with North Carolina tomorrow. The Orange, on the other hand, struggled down the stretch winning just two of their final six games. While the Orange have their fair share of quality wins, they also have some real head scratching losses and aren’t completely safe yet. A win today would go a long way towards guaranteeing a spot in the field of 68 on Sunday.

Final Score: Syracuse 68 Miami 62

#5 Duke vs. #12 Clemson– The Tigers were feeling pretty good about their chances to go dancing after putting together a very impressive non-conference resume. However, once Clemson got into ACC play, things fell apart, and they finished ACC play with a record of 16-14 (6-12). If Clemson has any chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament they will have to win the conference tournament. A win over N.C. State was a good start yesterday, but their first real challenge is this afternoon against Duke. The Blue Devils enter the ACC Tournament in a funk, losing three of their last four games including an emotional season finally to arch-rival North Carolina. While they may have the most talented roster in the nation, Duke has struggled to live up to some lofty expectations. In the end, I believe Duke has too much talent for the Tigers and advances to a matchup with Louisville tomorrow.

Final Score: Duke 74 Clemson 66

#7 Virginia Tech vs. #10 Wake Forest– Wake Forest is the final team in the ACC that is battling for a bid to the big dance. The Demon Deacons have won four straight heading into tonight’s game and have put themselves squarely on the bubble. Led by Second Team All-American John Collins, the Deacs are looking for at least one more statement win to secure their spot. Virginia Tech heads into this matchup winning five of their last seven, however, they lost their regular season finale to Wake Forest on Saturday. If the Demon Deacons can have a repeat performance of that game, then they can look forward to a matchup with Florida State.

Final Score: Wake Forest 84 Virginia Tech 75

#6 Virginia vs. #14 Pittsburgh– The Panthers knocked off Georgia Tech yesterday in their first-round matchup, but face a much tougher task today with the Virginia Cavaliers. Pitt struggled under first-year head coach Kevin Stallings, but showed flashes of what they could be throughout the season. One such moment was early in conference play when they beat Virginia by 12. Virginia is home to the nation’s top-ranked defense and proved it in the regular season finale when they held that same Pitt team to a measly 42 points. Look for the Cavs to continue to clamp down on the Panthers tonight.

Final Score: Virginia 64 Pittsburgh 54

March 9th

#1 North Carolina vs. #8 Syracuse– The Tar Heels are coming off of an emotional high after beating Duke in Chapel Hill to finish the regular season. There are not many teams playing better than North Carolina lately, who have won seven of their previous nine games. They boast experience and depth and look to be one of the favorites to win the National Championship heading into March Madness. The last time these two teams met, the Tar Heels dominated the glass and had their way with the Orange. Unless Syracuse is able to really light it up from deep, it should be more of the same this time around with the Tar Heels pulling away for a convincing victory.

Final Score: North Carolina 82 Syracuse 73

#4 Louisville vs. #5 Duke– Louisville has been one of the top teams in the country all season long and only just lost their first game against an unranked opponent on March 1 when they traveled to Winston-Salem and lost to Wake Forest. The Cardinals got a major piece to the puzzle back in early February when junior point guard Quentin Snider returned to the lineup. Since his return, Snider is averaging 14.1 PPG and 4.3 APG to help guide the Cardinals. With a healthy Snider, Louisville can beat anybody, including the talented Duke Blue Devils.

Final Score: Louisville 76 Duke 71

#2 Florida State vs. #10 Wake Forest– The Seminoles are having arguably their best season ever under Leonard Hamilton and have the weapons to be a real dark horse come time for the NCAA Tournament. FSU features one of the best one-two scoring punches in the conference with sophomore Dwayne Bacon and freshman Jonathan Isaac. However, the fact that the games are being played up in Brooklyn may cause the Seminoles some trouble. In their last eight games away from home, FSU is 2-6. Even with those struggles, they should have enough in the tank to beat a Wake Forest team that will be playing their third game in as many days.

Final Score: Florida State 88 Wake Forest 79

#3 Notre Dame vs. #6 Virginia– In a matchup of two extremely contrasting styles, the Fighting Irish and the Cavaliers meet for the night-cap. The last time these two teams met the Cavs’ defense stifled Notre Dame and held them to 24 points below their season average. Bonzie Colson got his points against Virginia with 20, but got little help from his teammates with Steve Vasturia being the only other player to reach double figures for Notre Dame. I expect to see more of the same in this matchup with Virginia’s defense continuing to frustrate everyone they face.

Final Score: Virginia 67 Notre Dame 60

March 10th

#1 North Carolina vs. #4 Louisville– The Tar Heels and the Cardinals met for the first time this season just two weeks ago with the Tar Heels taking a 74-63 victory at home. Turnovers killed the Cardinals with them committing 16 of them over the course of the game. All-Conference performer Donovan Mitchell was the only player for Louisville to reach double figures with 21, although eight other players did score in the game. The Tar Heels lead the nation in rebounding and that is a big part of their success. If they continue to dominate the glass it will be tough for anyone to beat them, but of all the teams in the conference, I believe Louisville is the best equipped to do so thanks to their depth.

Final Score: Louisville 78 North Carolina 75

#2 Florida State vs. #6 Virginia– Virginia will face their second straight high-powered offense in the conference semi-finals. In their last matchup, the Cavaliers held Florida State to just 60 points, 23 shy of their season average, but failed to capitalize and lost by two. Virginia’s defense has really locked in with the season coming to a close. In their last six games, opponents are scoring just 54 PPG against them. Florida State has the floor spacers to crack the zone, but will need to capitalize when they get good looks because they could be few and far between.

Final Score: Virginia 68 Florida State 62

March 11th

#4 Louisville vs. #6 Virginia– The Cardinals and the Cavaliers met twice during the regular season with Virginia winning both matchups by an average of 12 points. However, the last matchup was over a month ago and Cardinal point guard Quinton Snider was out with an injury. Both teams are in the upper echelon for defensive field goal percentage and make their opponents work for good looks. With the conference championship on the line look for inspired play on both sides of the ball. In the end, I believe the Cardinals will get their revenge and beat the Cavaliers with Snider and backcourt mate Donovan Mitchell making the difference.

Final Score: Louisville 65 Virginia 57

So there you have it. Your 2017 ACC Tournament Champion will be the Louisville Cardinals after wins over Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia. Those three wins bolster an already strong resume for Rick Pitino’s squad and could be enough to put the Cardinals in position for one-seed in the big dance. Check back all March long for matchup breakdowns and analysis on all your favorite ACC schools.