ACC Bubble Teams Fight for NCAA Tournament Spots

0:00On March 10th, the Atlantic Coast Conference looks much stronger this college basketball season compared to last year, when only four teams made the NCAA tournament. Now as many as nine could punch their tickets on Selection Sunday, and today's first round games in Charlotte could make or break three bubble teams. 15th-seated SMU faces, 14th-seated Syracuse at 430 Eastern Time, 10th-seated Stanford takes on 15th-seated Pittsburgh at 2. 13th-seated Wake Forest meets 12th-seated Virginia Tech at 9 Eastern. SMU sits on the edge of the field with a solid net ranking of 39, led by senior guard Boopy Miller, who tops the league in minutes, and steals while scoring nearly 20 points of game. They have an injury concern with Guard BJ Edwards out for the regular season's end, but a win here over slumping Syracuse on a 5-game skid puts. Them in great shape against 6th-seated Louisville next. Stanford is trending up on a 4-game win streak, powered by freshman star Ibuka Okori, whose

1:02fifth in the nation at 23 points per game, and leads the ACC in scoring. Their net ranking of 59 means they likely need victories over Pittsburgh, and then 7th-seated NC State to dance, especially after beating. The Panthers earlier this season, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech both face long odds, with a demon deacons eyeing a ninth straight NCAA miss amid coaching pressure, while the Hokies. They hold a slim chance despite a decent net of 53. Historical trends favor opening round seeds, going 23 wins and 4 losses straight up since 2016. These results will shake up bracketology as the tournament rolls on towards Saturday's title game, with top seeds like Duke and Virginia lurking in.