Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics
The Good and Bad of Virginia's ACC Tournament Draw
Virginia has earned the No. 2 seed in the 2023 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, which begins this week at Greensboro Coliseum. UVA gets a double-bye into the quarterfinals and will play on Thursday at 7pm against the winner of the second round game between No. 7 North Carolina and either No. 10 Boston College or No. 15 Louisville.
See the full bracket for the ACC Tournament here:
With the bracket and matchups revealed for the 2023 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, let's break down the good and the bad of UVA's draw and path to the ACC Tournament Championship.
The Good: avoiding Miami, Duke, and Pitt until the title game
Of the opponents that could give Virginia the most trouble on the path to the ACC Tournament final, Miami, Pitt, and Duke are right at the top of the list and all three of those teams are on the opposite side of the bracket from Virginia. Miami and Pitt defeated UVA in conference play this season, albeit in home games for those teams and much earlier in this season, and Duke came very close to handing the Cavaliers their only home loss in ACC play. Only having to play one of those teams in the ACC Tournament and having that lone matchup take place in the ACC Championship Game is a definite plus for UVA.
The Bad: a quick rematch with North Carolina
Facing the Tar Heels in a likely ACC quarterfinal matchup is an unfortunate draw for the Cavaliers. UNC just beat UVA a little over a week ago in Chapel Hill and when the Tar Heels are completely healthy, as they are right now, they pose a significant matchup problem for the Hoos. Furthermore, as was the case when these two teams met on February 25th, North Carolina will be hungry and desperate for a victory as that quarterfinal against Virginia is essentially a must-win for UNC in order to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. If the Tar Heels were ever to rediscover the magic from their run to the NCAA final last year, it has to happen now. Still, Virginia played well in the second half of the game at UNC and has played well in the two games since then, suggesting that the Cavaliers should fare better against the Tar Heels on a "neutral floor", although North Carolina will have somewhat of a home-court advantage on a Thursday night in Greensboro.
The Good: No. 2 seed over the No. 3 seed for scheduling purposes
Securing the No. 2 seed was good for Virginia for timing purposes as well. Had the Cavaliers dropped to the No. 3 seed, they would have played in the last quarterfinal game on Thursday night. That game is technically scheduled to tip off at 9:30pm, but the real start time is usually closer to 10pm due to the 7pm game on the same court running long. Playing a game until midnight on Thursday is not a very good recipe for having rested legs for the semifinals on Friday, should your team advance. Playing at 7pm in the quarterfinals is much preferred over 9:30pm for the only game that you're guaranteed to play at the ACC Tournament.
The Bad: scheduling still favors the No. 1 seed over everyone else
Virginia's upset loss at Boston College on February 22nd cost the Cavaliers the outright ACC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. Had UVA earned the No. 1 seed, the Hoos would be playing at noon on Thursday, which undoubtedly would mean some hard-working UVA fans would miss the game, but it's still the ideal scenario for the team, which wouldn't have to play again until Friday night, giving a few more precious hours of rest and preparation time. With Virginia in the bottom half of the bracket, the Cavaliers will have to play at the 9:30pm slot in the ACC semifinals on Friday, which offers the same issues discussed above. The cost of winning is the same for every team at the ACC Tournament: playing consecutive games on little rest. Having a few extra hours of rest vs. your opponent in the next game provides a critical advantage.
The Good: a manageable matchup in the semifinals
If Virginia can beat North Carolina in the rubber match in the quarterfinals, UVA's likely opponent in the semifinals will be either No. 3 Clemson or No. 6 NC State. Those are two quality opponents, but opponents who UVA played fairly well against in their lone regular season meetings. Even though the Cavaliers were at home for both of those games, those were two of Virginia's more solid performances against very good competition. There's an outside chance that No. 11 Virginia Tech or No. 14 Notre Dame could spring a couple of upsets to make it into the semis, and those two teams gave UVA some trouble in the regular season. But overall, the possible opponent pool of Clemson/NC State/Virginia Tech/Notre Dame is much preferred over the semifinal matchups offered in the top half of the bracket with Miami, Duke, Pitt, and even Syracuse and Wake Forest.
Virginia is looking to win its fourth ACC Tournament Championship in program history and first since 2018.
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