2020–21 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season
Sports season
The 2020–21 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in December 2020 and concluded in March with the 2021 ACC men's basketball tournament at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina . The season marked the 67th season of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball.
The Virginia Cavaliers won the regular season title with a conference record of 13–4. Georgia Tech won the ACC tournament over Florida State .
Head coaches
Coaching changes
Wake Forest fired Danny Manning after six seasons, where he posted a 78–111 record.[ 1] [ 2] On April 30, 2020, the Demon Deacons hired Steve Forbes as his replacement.[ 3]
Boston College fired Jim Christian in the middle of the season, after leading the team to a 3–13 record. Christian's overall record with Boston College was 78–132 and 26–94 in ACC play. Scott Spinelli served as interim coach until the end of the season.[ 4] After the season Earl Grant was hired as the new head coach.[ 5]
Coaches
Notes:
Year at school includes 2020–21 season.
Overall and ACC records are from the time at current school and are through the end of the 2019–20 season.
NCAA tournament appearances are from the time at current school only.
NCAA Final Fours and championship include time at other schools
Preseason
Preseason watchlists
Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
Preseason polls
The preseason media poll and preseason All-ACC teams were announced at a virtual tipoff event that was held on November 11 and November 12.[ 22] 155 media members voted on the preseason poll and preseason All-ACC teams.[ 23]
Preseason poll
First-place votes shown in parentheses.
Virginia (97) – 2214
Duke (34) – 2146
Florida State (15) – 1973
North Carolina (7) – 1933
Louisville (2) – 1693
Syracuse – 1234
Miami – 1223
NC State – 1149
Georgia Tech – 1147
Clemson – 1057
Virginia Tech – 794
Notre Dame – 769
Pitt – 635
Boston College – 404
Wake Forest – 229
Preseason All-ACC teams
2020 ACC Men's Basketball Preseason All-ACC Teams
First Team
Second Team
ACC preseason player of the year
ACC preseason rookie of the year
Regular season
Rankings
Legend
Increase in ranking
Decrease in ranking
Not ranked previous week
First Place votes shown in ()
Pre
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Wk 14
Wk 15
Wk 16
Final
Boston College
AP
C
Clemson
AP
RV
RV
24
RV
RV
19т
12
20
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
C
RV
RV
RV
RV
18
12
22
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
Duke
AP
9
6
10
21
20
20
21
19
RV
C
8
11
23
25
RV
24
23
RV
Florida State
AP
21
22
20
15
21
18
25
RV
RV
16
20
17
16
11
11
15
14
C
18
21
15
21
19
22
RV
25
16
19
19
16
9
11
13
14
10
Georgia Tech
AP
RV
RV
C
RV
RV
RV
RV
Louisville
AP
RV
RV
25
23
RV
RV
RV
16
RV
25
RV
RV
RV
RV
C
RV
24
22
RV
RV
25
18
RV
23
RV
RV
RV
RV
Miami
AP
C
North Carolina
AP
16
14
16
22
17
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
C
16
14
21
17
RV
RV
RV
RV
NC State
AP
RV
RV
RV
C
RV
RV
RV
Notre Dame
AP
C
Pittsburgh
AP
C
Syracuse
AP
RV
RV
C
RV
25
Virginia
AP
4
15
18
17
16
23
22
18
13
8
14
9
7
15
21
16
15
C
4
18
16
15
24т
21
22
12
8
15
9
8
14
20
15
15
24
Virginia Tech
AP
16
15
RV
24
24
19т
20
16
20
16
18
18
16
22
22
25
C
15
RV
RV
RV
20
20
14
19
16
17т
17
15
19
21
24
RV
Wake Forest
AP
C
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 20 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent. The full conference schedule was announced on November 10, 2020.[ 24]
Boston College
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Louisville
Miami
North Carolina
NC State
Notre Dame
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
vs. Boston College
–
0–0
1–0
1–0
0–0
1–0
1–1
0–0
2–0
1–1
0–0
2–0
1–0
0–0
1–0
vs. Clemson
0–0
–
1–0
1–1
1–1
0–1
0–2
0–1
0–1
0–0
0–1
1–1
1–0
1–0
0–1
vs. Duke
0–1
0–1
–
0–0
1–1
2–0
1–0
2–0
0–1
1–1
1–0
0–1
0–1
1–0
0–2
vs. Florida State
0–1
1–1
0–0
–
1–1
0–1
0–2
1–1
0–1
1–0
0–1
0–0
0–1
0–0
0–1
vs. Georgia Tech
0–0
1–1
1–1
1–1
–
1–0
0–1
0–1
0–0
0–1
0–1
0–1
2–0
0–1
0–2
vs. Louisville
0–1
1–0
0–2
1–0
0–1
–
1–0
1–0
0–0
0–1
0–1
0–0
1–0
0–1
0–1
vs. Miami
1–1
2–0
0–1
2–0
1–0
0–1
–
1–0
0–1
2–0
1–0
1–0
1–0
2–0
1–0
vs. North Carolina
0–0
1–0
0–2
1–1
1–0
0–1
0–1
–
1–1
0–1
0–1
1–1
1–0
0–0
0–1
vs. NC State
0–2
1–0
1–0
1–0
0–0
0–0
1–0
1–1
–
0–1
0–2
2–0
1–1
0–0
0–2
vs. Notre Dame
1–1
0–0
1–1
0–1
1–0
1–0
0–2
1–0
1–0
–
0–1
1–0
2–0
2–0
0–1
vs. Pittsburgh
0–0
1–0
0–1
1–0
1–0
1–0
0–1
1–0
2–0
1–0
–
0–2
1–0
0–1
1–1
vs. Syracuse
0–2
1–1
1–0
0–0
1–0
0–0
0–1
1–1
0–2
0–1
2–0
–
1–0
0–1
0–0
vs. Virginia
0–1
0–1
1–0
1–0
0–2
0–1
0–1
0–1
1–1
0–2
0–1
0–1
–
1–0
0–1
vs. Virginia Tech
0–0
0–1
0–1
0–0
1–0
1–0
0–2
0–0
0–0
0–2
1–0
1–0
0–1
–
0–2
vs. Wake Forest
0–1
1–0
2–0
1–0
2–0
1–0
0–1
1–0
2–0
1–0
1–1
0–0
1–0
2–0
–
Total
2–11
10–6
9–9
11–4
11–6
8–5
4–15
10–6
9–8
7–11
6–10
9–7
13–4
9–4
3–15
Player of the week
Throughout the conference regular season, the Atlantic Coast Conference offices named one or two Players of the week and one or two Freshmen of the week.
Records against other conferences
2020–21 records against non-conference foes as of (Feb. 24, 2021). Records shown for regular season only.
Postseason
ACC tournament
The 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament was originally scheduled to be hosted at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. [ 40] However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic , the tournament was moved to the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina , on November 24, 2020. The Capital One Arena will host the tournament in 2024.[ 41]
First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship 1 Virginia 72 8 Syracuse 89 8 Syracuse 69 9 NC State 68 1 Virginia 4 Georgia Tech w/o 4 Georgia Tech 70 5 Clemson 64 13 Miami 66 12 Pittsburgh 73 13 Miami 67 4 Georgia Tech 80 13 Miami 79 2 Florida State 75 2 Florida State w/o 7 Louisville 56 10 Duke 10 Duke 86 10 Duke 70 2 Florida State 69 15 Boston College 51 6 North Carolina 66 3 Virginia Tech 73 6 North Carolina 101 6 North Carolina 81 11 Notre Dame 80 11 Notre Dame 59 14 Wake Forest 77
NCAA tournament
Seed
Region
School
1st round
2nd round
Sweet 16
Elite Eight
Final Four
Championship
4
East
Florida State
W 64–54 vs. #13 UNC Greensboro – (Indianapolis, IN )
W 71–53 vs. #5 Colorado – (Indianapolis, IN )
L 58–76 vs. #1 Michigan – (Indianapolis, IN )
4
West
Virginia
L 58–62 vs. #13 Ohio – (Bloomington, IN )
7
Midwest
Clemson
L 56–60 vs. #10 Rutgers – (Indianapolis, IN )
8
South
North Carolina
L 62–85 vs. #9 Wisconsin – (West Lafayette, IN )
9
Midwest
Georgia Tech
L 60–71 vs. #8 Loyola–Chicago – (Indianapolis, IN )
10
South
Virginia Tech
L 70–75 (OT) vs. #7 Florida – (Indianapolis, IN )
11
Midwest
Syracuse
W 78–62 vs. #6 San Diego State – (Indianapolis, IN )
W 75–72 vs. #3 West Virginia – (Indianapolis, IN )
L 46–62 vs. #2 Houston – (Indianapolis, IN )
W–L (%):
2–5 (.286)
2–0 (1.000)
0–2 (.000)
0–0 (–)
0–0 (–)
0–0 (–) Total: 4–7 (.364)
National Invitation Tournament
Honors and awards
All-Americans
Consensus All-Americans
First Team
Second Team
None
None
To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors based on a point system computed from the four different all-America teams. The point system consists of three points for first team, two points for second team and one point for third team. No honorable mention or fourth team or lower are used in the computation. The top five totals plus ties are first team and the next five plus ties are second team.[ 42]
Associated Press[ 43]
NABC[ 44]
Sporting News[ 45]
USBWA[ 46]
First Team
None
None
None
None
Second Team
None
None
None
None
Third Team
None
None
None
None
ACC Awards
Source:[ 47]
NBA draft
The ACC had seven players selected in the 2021 NBA draft . Over the last eight years (2014–2021) the ACC leads all conferences with forty nine first-round selections.[ 48]
Attendance
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , attendance was limited at all stadiums for the season. Depending on state regulations, some universities did not allow any fans while some universities operated under reduced total capacity.
Team
Arena
Capacity
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
Game 5
Game 6
Game 7
Total
Average
% of Capacity
Game 8
Game 9
Game 10
Game 11
Game 12
Game 13
Game 14
Boston College
Conte Forum
8,606
No attendance due to COVID-19
No attendance due to COVID-19
Clemson
Littlejohn Coliseum
9,000
1,345
1,876
1,508
1,876
1,876
1,876
1,876
21,613
1,801
20.01%
1,876
1,876
1,876
1,876
1,876
Duke
Cameron Indoor Stadium
9,314
No attendance due to COVID-19
No attendance due to COVID-19
Florida State
Donald L. Tucker Center
12,100
2,720
2,956
2,761
2,664
2,576
2,078
2,837
36,067
2,774
22.93%
2,850
2,950
2,825
2,950
2,950
2,950
Georgia Tech
McCamish Pavilion
8,600
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
15,600
1,200
13.95%
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
Louisville
KFC Yum! Center
22,090
2,956
2,988
2,934
3,013
3,281
2,966
3,024
35,009
3,183
14.41%
3,219
2,868
2,948
4,812
Miami
Watsco Center
7,972
No attendance due to COVID-19
No attendance due to COVID-19
North Carolina
Dean Smith Center
21,750
No attendance due to COVID-19
3,263
3,263
15%
3,263
NC State
PNC Arena
19,722
25
25
0
0
0
0
25
650
59
0.3%
25
25
25
500
Notre Dame
Edmund P. Joyce Center
9,149
84
156
89
82
86
78
103
2,058
187
2.04%
123
114
497
646
Pittsburgh
Petersen Events Center
12,508
500
500
500
0
0
500
500
5,500
423
3.38%
500
500
500
500
500
500
Syracuse
Carrier Dome
35,446
No attendance due to COVID-19
No attendance due to COVID-19
Virginia
John Paul Jones Arena
14,593
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
2,250
205
1.4%
250
250
0
0
Virginia Tech
Cassell Coliseum
10,052
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
3,000
250
2.5%
250
250
250
250
250
Wake Forest
LJVM Coliseum
14,665
0
0
77
71
89
79
82
1,915
174
1.19%
102
116
70
1,229
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Current teams Championships & awards Conference challenges Seasons