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ACC Preseason Poll: UVA Picked to Finish Fourth, Clark Makes ACC Second-Team

The Cavaliers received nine first-place votes, but Duke was the overwhelming favorite to win the ACC

Matt Newton

The Atlantic Coast Conference released the results of its 2021 men’s basketball preseason poll, as selected by the attending media at the ACC Tipoff event last week.

The Duke Blue Devils were chosen as the favorite to win the ACC Championship, receiving 47 of 81 first-place votes and a total of 1,132 points. Virginia received 949 points, including nine first-place votes, and was picked to finish fourth in the ACC, behind Florida State and North Carolina.

Kihei Clark received five votes for ACC Preseason Player of the Year, the fifth-most on the ballot. Duke freshman Paolo Banchero received 28 votes and was named Preseason ACC Player of the Year. Virginia Tech’s Keve Aluma was in second place with 16 votes.

Banchero was also by far the favorite to win ACC Freshman of the Year, receiving 64 of the 81 votes for the award. Virginia freshman Igor Milicic Jr. received three votes.

The preseason All-ACC First-Team is Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim (68), Virginia Tech’s Keve Aluma (52), Duke’s Paolo Banchero (49), North Carolina’s Armando Bacot (46), and Miami’s Isaiah Wong (37). Kihei Clark was named to the preseason All-ACC Second-Team with 23 votes, alongside Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe (25), Notre Dame’s Prentiss Hubb (17), Duke’s Mark Williams (17), Duke’s Wendell Moore (9), North Carolina’s Caleb Love (9), and Louisville’s Malik Williams (9).

Here is the full ACC men’s basketball 2021 preseason poll:

ACC Men’s Basketball Tipoff - 2021 Preseason Poll

School, Points (First-place votes in parentheses; 81 total voters)

1. Duke (47), 1,132

2. Florida State (14), 1,034

3. North Carolina (5), 1,001

4. Virginia (9), 949

5. Virginia Tech (5), 857

6. Louisville (1), 791

7. Syracuse, 781

8. Notre Dame, 599

9. NC State, 555

10. Georgia Tech, 524

11. Clemson, 430

12. Miami, 428

13. Wake Forest, 274

14. Pitt, 253

15. Boston College, 112

Preseason All-ACC

First Team (Name, School, Votes)

Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse, 68

Keve Aluma, Virginia Tech, 52

Paolo Banchero, Duke, 49

Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 46

Isaiah Wong, Miami, 37

Second Team

Name, School, Votes

Michael Devoe, Georgia Tech, 25

Kihei Clark, Virginia, 23

Prentiss Hubb, Notre Dame, 17

Mark Williams, Duke, 12

Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 9

Caleb Love, North Carolina, 9

Malik Williams, Louisville, 9

Preseason Player of the Year

(Name, School, Votes)

Paolo Banchero, Duke, 28

Keve Aluma, Virginia Tech, 16

Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse, 13

Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 12

Kihei Clark, Virginia, 5

Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 3

Caleb Love, North Carolina, 2

Mark Williams, Duke, 2

Preseason Freshman of the Year

(Name, School, Votes)

Paolo Banchero, Duke, 64

Trevor Keels, Duke, 5

Terquavion Smith, NC State, 3

Dontrez Styles, North Carolina, 3

Igor Milicic Jr., Virginia, 3

Wooga Poplar, Miami, 1

Benny Williams, Syracuse, 1

Cameron Hildreth, Wake Forest, 1

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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