ACC weekly basketball preview
Static Links for 2024-25 Season
ACC Men’s Basketball Quick Hits
• The second annual SEC/ACC Challenge is slated for Tuesday-Wednesday, Dec. 3-4. The event features 16 games, with each league hosting eight contests.
• In the first year of the Challenge in 2023, the ACC and SEC played to a 7-7 tie. ACC teams won four of the five contests against the SEC’s nationally ranked teams.
• Duke (No. 9 AP/USA Today), Pitt (No. 18 AP/19 USA Today and North Carolina (No. 20 AP/22 USA Today) are ranked in the latest national polls. Clemson, Florida State and Louisville are receiving votes.
• In the first NET rankings for the 2024-25, released Monday, five ACC teams are among the top 30: Duke (4), Pitt (5), Clemson (18), UNC (26) and Louisville (30).
• Three ACC teams captured MTE titles last week: Boston College (Cayman Islands Classic), Clemson (Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach, Calif.) and SMU (Acrisure Invitational in Palm Springs, Calif.).
• For the sixth straight season, the ACC will play a 20-game conference schedule. League play begins on Saturday, Dec. 7.
• Following a vote of the league’s media, Duke was chosen as the preseason favorite to win the 2025 ACC Championship. The Blue Devils were followed in the poll by UNC, Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia.
• Three members of the 2024 All-ACC Team are back for the 2024-25 season: UNC’s RJ Davis and Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis (first team) and Notre Dame’s Markus Burton (third team). Three honorable mention honorees return: Jamir Watkins (FSU), Ian Schieffelin (Clemson) and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (NC State).
• The ACC returns four of its 2024 season award winners: Davis (Player of Year), Burton (Rookie of Year), Schieffelin (Most Improved) and Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett (Sixth Man of Year).
• Davis is the first ACC Player of the Year to return since 2009, when 2008 ACC Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough came back for his fourth and final season.
• Davis was named the Preseason ACC Player of the Year, while Duke’s Cooper Flagg was tabbed Preseason Rookie of the Year.
• Davis was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-ACC First Team and was joined by Flagg, Sallis, Burton and Miami’s Nijel Pack.
• Davis and Flagg also were named Preseason All-Americans by the Associated Press. Davis and Flagg were tabbed First-Team All-Americans by the Sporting News, while Sallis was a third-team pick.
• The conference welcomes seven of the nation’s top 26 recruiting classes in 2024, per 247Sports: No. 1 Duke, No. 7 Miami, No. 8 UNC, No. 20 Georgia Tech, No. 21 FSU, No. 25 Clemson and No. 26 Notre Dame.
• The ACC boasts seven of the top 15 freshmen in the country, per 247Sports: No. 1 Cooper Flagg, Duke; No. 6 Khaman Maluach, Duke; No. 7 Jalil Bethea, Miami; No. 8 Ian Jackson, UNC; No. 11 Drake Powell, UNC; No. 13 Donnie Freeman, Syracuse; and No. 14 Isaiah Evans, Duke.
• Four ACC head coaches are in their first seasons at the helm of their programs: Pat Kelsey (Louisville), Andy Enfield (SMU), Kyle Smith (Stanford) and Ron Sanchez (Virginia – interim).
• Miami’s Jim Larrañaga (sixth, 743), Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton (13th, 628), Clemson’s Brad Brownell (34th, 439) and Virginia Tech’s Mike Young (41st, 394) rank among the active national leaders in wins as a head coach.
Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, December 3
Alabama State at SMU | ACCNX | 8 PM
Utah Valley at Stanford | ACCNX | 10 PM
2024 SEC/ACC Challenge
Tuesday, December 3
Arkansas at Miami | ESPN2 | 7 PM
Notre Dame at Georgia | ESPNU | 7 PM
South Carolina at Boston College | ACCN | 7 PM
California at Missouri | SECN | 7 PM
Syracuse at No. 3/3 Tennessee | ESPN | 7:30 PM
Wake Forest at No. 22/24 Texas A&M | ESPN2 | 9 PM
Georgia Tech at No. 21/21 Oklahoma | ESPNU | 9 PM
No. 23/20 Ole Miss at Louisville | ACCN | 9 PM
Florida State at LSU | SECN | 9 PM
No. 4/6 Kentucky at Clemson | ESPN | 9:30 PM
2024 SEC/ACC Challenge
Wednesday, December 4
No. 10/12 Alabama at No. 20/22 North Carolina | ESPN | 7:15 PM
Virginia at No. 13/13 Florida | ESPN2 | 7:15 PM
No. 2/2 Auburn at No. 9/9 Duke | ESPN | 9:15 PM
Texas at NC State | ESPN2 | 9:15 PM
Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech | ACCN | 9:15 PM
No. 18/19 Pitt at Mississippi State | SECN | 9:15 PM
Saturday, December 7
Boston College at Wake Forest | ACCN | Noon
Clemson at Miami | ESPN2 | Noon
Syracuse at Notre Dame | The CW | Noon
Georgia Tech at No. 20/22 North Carolina | ACCN | 2 PM
No. 18/19 Pitt at Virginia Tech | ESPNU | 2 PM
Virginia at SMU | The CW | 2:15 PM
Stanford at California | ACCN | 4 PM
Florida State at NC State | ESPNU | 4 PM
Sunday, December 8
No. 9/9 Duke at Louisville | ACCN | 6 PM
All times Eastern; Rankings: AP/USA Today