In college basketball, the ACC is a few notches below the SEC and a few notches below the Big 12 and Big 10. The league has eight teams participating in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, and only one team, Duke, has made it to the Sweet 16. However, this has been a great year for the league. How could both of these things be true? Let’s discuss:
reality check
The ACC lost seven teams in the first week of the NCAA tournament, which was undoubtedly brutal. There is no way around this problem. When that happens, the ACC can no longer be considered a top three team in college basketball. We can all admit that and move on. However, this is where the conversation gets interesting.
advertise
Not all ACC losers are losers — take Miami as an example
Miami won one NCAA tournament game before being eliminated by Purdue. Despite not making the Sweet 16, the Hurricanes have been a clear success story this season. Jay Lucas looks to be a very good hire, a young coach with a very promising future.
virginia
Ryan Odom is having a great first year at Virginia, but the Cavaliers may not be as good as the No. 3 seed they were in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee eliminated the Hoos in the Round of 32. Virginia failed to reach the Sweet 16, but the larger story surrounding the program was positive. That’s why the ACC is having a good year despite a poor showing in the NCAA tournament.
advertise
North Carolina
The loss to Texas in the Final Four was a tough loss, but one should expect Will Wade to upgrade his roster in his second year at NC State. Wade publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with last season’s roster. Expect him to make positive changes. The state will be better next season. Now the portal is calling. The Wolfpack needed to make a splash. Wade seems capable of doing that.
Louisville
Louisville’s failure to advance to the Sweet 16 was disappointing, but with Mikel Brown injured, we can’t say Pat Kelce underperformed. Louisville has had bad injury luck under Kelce. Kashawn Pryor’s injury was brutal on last season’s team, and Brown’s injury has had an equally huge impact on this year’s team. If Louisville can get back and stay healthy, it could become a major national team player. Again: Just because a team doesn’t make the Sweet 16 doesn’t mean its future isn’t positive. Such is life for many ACC basketball programs.
advertise
singapore management university
Andy Enfield led SMU to the NCAA Tournament in his second year. SMU lost to Miami Ohio University, but Enfield has been such a good coach that the program fired his predecessor, put all its chips in the middle of the standings, and relied on Enfield’s abilities. The move isn’t a home run, but there are more positives than negatives.
Clemson
Brad Brownell continues to compete in the NCAA tournament, but many times, his teams are eliminated in the first round. Friday’s case against Iowa is one such case. Brownell has an Elite Eight appearance in 2024 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2018, but the lack of NCAA tournament wins is a valid reason for frustration. Those two seasons — 2024 and 2018 — are the only seasons Clemson has won a game in the Round of 64 in March Madness. Clemson has been a good program over the past eight years — the first few seasons under Brownell failed — but March should be even better.
advertise
North Carolina
This is undoubtedly a very headache for the ACC basketball community. UNC basketball is not a heavyweight, and that really drags the league down. Hubert Davis is holding Carolina back, and the Tar Heels need to find a solution, with or without him.
Bigger ACC basketball issues
Despite the poor performance in the NCAA tournament, we can say that the ACC has a good 2026 season due to the generally progressive steps taken by schools in the conference. However, that means the conference is well behind its competitors from a year ago. It dug itself a deep hole and it will take a while to fully recover. There has been some recovery this year, but not enough to fully close the gap.
advertise
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech’s hiring of Scott Cross from Troy shows a seriousness about basketball that has been missing from many ACC basketball schools in recent years. The culture of ACC basketball is improving, even at schools that struggled the past few seasons.
Syracuse
The hiring of Gerry McNamara upgrades Syracuse’s coaching staff from Red Autry. It’s another positive step for an ACC basketball program that didn’t get anywhere last season.
Florida
Luke Loucks is showing signs that he’s the right fit for Florida State. Give him another two years to fully launch the program; Tallahassee is headed in the right direction.
advertise
Stanford University
Kyle Smith is an underrated coach who does more with less. Hopefully he can get Stanford to the NCAA Tournament in 2028, if not 2027.
california
Mark Madsen can coach, but he’s dealing with Berkeley’s resource constraints. It’s a wait-and-see situation, but Madsen will need time before we can more fully judge him.
boston college
The program retained Earl Grant’s performance from last season, and it’s the kind of move that explains why ACC basketball has disappeared from the map. The program ultimately terminated Grant’s job and is now trying to hire his replacement. Let’s see what happens.
Virginia Tech
The NIL’s commitment to the program has improved, but the Hokies didn’t have a full roster last season. They have to invest more and get some portal hits.
advertise
wake forest university
Will Wake Forest keep Steve Forbes? Under Forbes, the Demon Deacons have not made the NCAA Tournament in more than five years. On the face of it, keeping him makes no sense.
Notre Dame de Paris
Micah Shrewsberry had a decidedly disappointing performance in South Bend. One wonders if the coach will give up and look for better opportunities elsewhere. Notre Dame joins Wake Forest, Boston College, Syracuse and Georgia Tech as one of the ACC’s most disappointing programs of the decade.
Overview
The 2026 NCAA Tournament is a disaster, but as you can see, several ACC basketball schools have improved their long-term prospects. North Carolina is a program that must reverse course. Most of the struggling ACC schools are showing signs of starting to do things right, but not all. Overall, ACC basketball programs are improving their understanding of what they need to do. There may not be a major NCAA tournament in 2027, but the most important thing is that the ACC can continue to grow as it did in 2026.
advertise
Contact/Follow@College_Wire Between X and@college_wire on the thread. Like our page Facebook Follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: ACC basketball needs patience after tough March Madness results
