North Carolina Picked as Preseason ACC Men’s Basketball Favorite

ACC logoGREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – North Carolina was voted the preseason favorite to win the 2022-23 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, following a vote of media members at the 2022 ACC Tipoff. Also ranked No. 1 nationally in the preseason Associated Press poll, the Tar Heels are the preseason ACC favorites for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

North Carolina received 90 of the 101 first-place votes and piled up 1,504 total points. Duke picked up two first-place votes and totaled 1,339 points to finish second in the poll, while Virginia racked up six first-place votes and 1,310 points to take third. Miami received a pair of first-place votes and 1,138 points for fourth place, while Florida State totaled 1,064 points for fifth place.

Notre Dame (971) was sixth in the poll, while reigning ACC champion Virginia Tech (921) picked up the final first-place vote and was seventh. Syracuse, Wake Forest, NC State, Clemson, Louisville, Boston College, Pitt and Georgia Tech comprised eighth through 15th, respectively.

In addition, the media voters selected North Carolina’s Armando Bacot as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, while Duke’s Dereck Lively II received the nod as ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year.

A first-team All-ACC honoree last season, Bacot led North Carolina in scoring (16.3), rebounding (13.1), field goal percentage (.569) and blocked shots (65) in 2021-22, becoming the first Tar Heel ever to lead the team in those categories in consecutive seasons. The 6-11 senior forward/center from Richmond, Virginia, was the first player in college basketball history to record six double-doubles in one NCAA Tournament, as he led UNC on a run to the national championship game. Bacot earned All-NCAA Tournament honors in both the Final Four and East Regional, where he was also the Most Outstanding Player. He is averaging 13.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in 100 career games and has 1,300 points, 1,001 rebounds and 127 blocks in three seasons.

A 7-1 center from Philadelphia, Lively II was a five-star recruit who was rated as the No. 1 overall player in ESPN 100’s rankings for the class of 2022. He also was ranked No. 1 at his position and No. 1 in the state of Pennsylvania by ESPN. Lively II played for Team Final on the Nike EYBL circuit during the summer of 2021, helping them to a Peach Jam title and leading the EYBL with 3.7 blocked shots per game in 15 contests while adding 8.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

The 70th season of ACC men’s basketball begins on Monday, Nov. 7. League play starts Friday, Dec. 2.

The ACC’s current 15 member schools have captured three of the last seven NCAA Championships, with 92 NCAA Tournament wins in that seven-year span. Current ACC schools have won eight NCAA titles in the last 21 years and own 17 national championships overall. Current ACC member schools have combined for 66 Men’s Final Four appearances and a national-best 657 NCAA Tournament wins. Duke and North Carolina advanced to the Final Four last year with UNC making the championship game.

The ACC posted a 14-5 record (.737) in the 2022 NCAA Tournament – the most wins and best winning percentage of any multi-bid conference – and has the highest all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage of any league (.619).

All 15 league members own 1,000 or more all-time wins, including eight schools with 1,500 or more victories. Four of the top eight and six of the top 30 winningest programs in NCAA Division I basketball history currently reside in the ACC.

2022 ACC Preseason Poll (101 total votes)
1. North Carolina (90), 1504
2. Duke (2), 1339
3. Virginia (6), 1310
4. Miami (2), 1138
5. Florida State, 1064
6. Notre Dame, 971
7. Virginia Tech (1), 921
8. Syracuse, 700
9. Wake Forest, 672
10. NC State, 548
11. Clemson, 528
12. Louisville, 477
13. Boston College, 368
14. Pitt, 320
15. Georgia Tech, 260
First-place votes in parentheses

Preseason All-ACC (101 total votes)
First Team
Name, School, Votes
Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 100
Isaiah Wong, Miami, 81
Caleb Love, North Carolina, 58
Terquavion Smith, NC State, 46
Jeremy Roach, Duke, 35

Second Team
Name, School, Votes
Jayden Gardner, Virginia, 32
Dereck Lively II, Duke, 19
Justyn Mutts, Virginia Tech, 18
PJ Hall, Clemson, 17
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 14

Preseason Player of the Year
Name, School, Votes
Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 82
Isaiah Wong, Miami, 5
Caleb Love, North Carolina, 4
Jeremy Roach, Duke, 3
PJ Hall, Clemson, 2
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 2
Terquavion Smith, NC State, 1
Hunter Cattoor, Virginia Tech, 1
Dariq Whitehead, Duke, 1

Preseason Rookie of the Year
Name, School, Votes
Dereck Lively II, Duke, 57
Dariq Whitehead, Duke, 25
Tyrese Proctor, Duke, 5
Mark Mitchell, Duke, 3
Tyler Nickel, North Carolina, 2
Jalen Washington, North Carolina, 2
JJ Starling, Notre Dame, 2
Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 2
Prince Aligbe, Boston College, 1
Isaac McKneely, Virginia, 1
Seth Trimble, North Carolina, 1