Last season, NC State was predicted to finish eighth in the ACC. The Wolfpack, of course, obliterated those expectations. After rising as high as No. 1 in the national rankings, the Pack finished the season at No. 2 in the conference standings, advancing all the way to the Final Four before falling to the eventual national champions, South Carolina.
So, expect the unexpected in the ACC, which, with the addition of three new teams in Stanford, Cal and SMU, will feature games from coast to coast—and plenty of opportunities for upsets. But Notre Dame, last seasons’s ACC Tournament champions, begin the season as the favorites, earning 70 of 79 first-place votes from the league’s 18 head coaches and a Blue Ribbon Panel. NC State received eight first-places votes, with Stanford getting the remaining one. Here’s the full standings prediction for the conference’s 18 teams:
- Notre Dame
- NC State
- Duke
- Louisville
- Florida State
- North Carolina
- Stanford
- Miami
- Virginia
- Georgia Tech
- Syracuse
- Virginia Tech
- Clemson
- California
- Boston College
- SMU
- Wake Forest
- Pitt
And here are our thoughts on the Irish, Wolfpack and Blue Devils of Duke, along with a tiering of the ACC’s other 15 teams:
Notre Dame
Last season, junior guard Olivia Miles’ season-long recovery from a right knee…
