Updated ACC Tournament Bracket Following The First Day of Action

How does the ACC Tournament Bracket line up after the first day of games in Charlotte?

Mar 3, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Ryan Odom gestures from the bench against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The first day of games in the ACC Tournament is officially in the books.

Things got started off with a big upset of Pittsburgh beating Stanford and likely knocking the Cardinal off the tournament bubble. That game also had a huge impact on Virginia. The Cavaliers are now going to face the winner of Pittsburgh and NC State on Thursday, two teams that UVA has already beaten this season and in the case of NC State, beaten twice.

Here is how the rest of the bracket looks heading into second round action on Wednesday:

First Round

(12) Virginia Tech 89 vs. (13) Wake Forest 95
(10) Stanford 63 vs. (15) Pittsburgh 64
(11) SMU 86 vs. (14) Syracuse 69

Second Round

(8) Florida State vs. (9) California
(13) Wake Forest vs. (5) Clemson
(15) Pittsburgh vs. (7) NC State
(11) SMU vs. (6) Louisville

Quarterfinals

(1) Duke vs. (8) Florida State or (9) California
(4) North Carolina vs. (5) Clemson or (13) Wake Forest
(2) Virginia vs. (7) NC State or (15) Pittsburgh
(3) Miami vs. (6) Louisville or (11) SMU

The big upset of the day was Pittsburgh beating Stanford, likely ending their at large hopes in the NCAA Tournament. Virginia Tech also saw their hopes go up in smoke with a loss in the first round against Wake Forest. SMU remains alive with a win over Syracuse and they will now face Louisville.

Who should the Cavaliers want to face?

The easier matchup for UVA would certainly be the Panthers. Pittsburgh has been one of the worst teams in the conference all season long and were lucky to even get into the conference tournament. They hold slim odds at actually upsetting the Wolfpack, but if they do, you can expect that Virginia will be a solid favorite in that game.

NC State cleary has more talent than Pitt, but the Wolfpack have not played well down the stretch of the season and Virginia has already blown them out twice. They come into the ACC Tournament fresh off a loss to Stanford.

The path to a tournament championship continues to shape up for Virginia. Duke has suffered injuries to two of its best players, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba, and that makes them a more vulnerable team. They should still be viewed as the solid favorite however due to the fact that they have the ACC's player of the year in Cameron Boozer and a roster full of NBA talent.