Complete ACC Women's Basketball Tournament Preview: Who will Come Out On Top In A Crowded Conference?

As it stands, the ACC holds five spots in the most recent publishing of the AP Top 25 poll, with the lowest being North Carolina at No. 14. Eight different teams in the ACC finished with 20-plus wins, and with recent ESPN projections, eight teams are projected in the field for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

What does all this say? The ACC Tournament is bound to be filled with twists and turns.

Action gets started Wednesday afternoon with matchups between No. 10 Virginia and No. 15 Pitt, No. 13 Syracuse and No. 12 Boston College, and the nightcap between No. 11 Stanford and No. 14 Clemson.

Each of those matchups, including No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech, in which each team earned a first-round bye, will be duking it out with the fresher No. 5 North Carolina, No. 7 California or No. 6 Louisville, leaving just four teams unplayed heading into Thursday.

In the front four seeds sit four squads currently inside the AP Top 25, the lowest being Florida State at No. 22, with Notre Dame topping the list at No. 6.

NC State is the deserved favorite heading into this year’s edition. After narrowly being edged out by Notre Dame in last year's championship, the Wolfpack earned the top spot after a 24-5 record, including 16-2 in the league. NC State head coach Wes Moore is one of the best in the game, only just missing the NCAA Tournament twice during his 11-year tenure, which includes three conference championship wins.

Defending ACC champion Notre Dame is a team priding itself on a repeat. Sophomore Hannah Hidalgo is a do-it-all player for the Irish. She is following up her remarkable freshman season with 24.2 points per game, along with 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and a mind-boggling 3.7 steals per game. Head coach Niele Ivey is coming off four successive 24-plus win seasons, and the Irish’s only two conference losses came against NC State in a double-overtime thriller, 104-95, and against Florida State the following game in a five-point loss to the Seminoles.

Slotting in nicely as the No. 3 seed are the Duke Blue Devils. Fifth-year head coach Kara Lawson looks to finally be settling in nicely in her third full non-COVID-19-related season.

What you have in this Duke squad is an efficient scoring outlook. Toby Fournier (14.1), Ashlon Jackson (12.1) and Reigan Richardson (10.0) all average at least 10 points per game. The Blue Devils have shown an ability to knock off favorites, including four Top 25 ACC wins this season. However, there are question marks over their lack of an out-and-out scorer, like most other ACC teams have.

Finally, as the No. 4 seed sit the Florida State Seminoles. FSU is a team led by junior guard Ta’Niya Latson. In Latson is where Florida State lives and dies. In all but eight games this season, Latson has led the team in scoring. Latson was recently named one of 20 players on the 2024-25 John R. Wooden Award Top 20 Late Midseason Watch List, and when she’s on her game, the Seminoles are a free-flowing team that has raked in wins against Top 25 competition in both Notre Dame and North Carolina.

Possible Dark Horse

Louisville could be a dark horse for the title this year. The Cardinals have faced 12 teams in the AP Top 25 this season, and while the Kentucky-based side is 4-12 in those games, late-season improvements have led to a 7-3 end-of-season run.

Player of the Tournament

Hannah Hidalgo has spent the season shooing away any concerns that she was a one-hit wonder. While her stats are slightly worse than her breakout freshman year, her team around her—especially under coach Ivey—looks more ready to back her up.

Championship Predictions

Expect Hidalgo and the Irish to go back-to-back and cement themselves as a contender for the national championship.