After sending just four teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2025, the ACC bounced back strongly in 2026. The conference sent eight teams to the Big Dance and with tournament expansion coming in 2027 from 68 teams to 76, that number could increase once again this spring. It should come as no surprise that Duke will once again be the consensus favorite to win the ACC.
After back-to-back disappointing endings to the season —including a loss to UConn in the Elite Eight — the Blue Devils and fifth-year coach Jon Scheyer have the makings for another deep tournament run led by arguably the deepest roster in the sport. Duke isn't the only ACC team expected to contend in 2027. Miami, under second-year coach Jai Lucas, has its best roster since the program reached the Final Four in 2023.
Louisville spent big this offseason after losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Michigan State. The Cardinals haven't made it out of the first weekend of the Big Dance since 2015. Eyes will also be on North Carolina after a wild offseason that included firing Hubert Davis and hiring former Nuggets and Kings coach Michael Malone, who has zero head-coaching experience at the college level.
Here is everything you need to know about the ACC, including player of the year predictions, conference standings and the best players in the league. Want to know starting lineup projections for every ACC team? De Ridder is CBS Sports' preseason ACC Player of the Year.
He is one of the most experienced players returning to the conference after putting up 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists during his freshman season with Virginia. The 23-year-old star forward previously played for Bilbao Basket (2023-25) and Antwerp Giants (2020-23) before arriving at UVa. He has great size for the position at 6-foot-9, which can be a mismatch nightmare for opponents.
De Ridder played as big a role as anyone in helping Virginia reach the 30-win mark for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign. Expectations will be even higher for De Ridder and UVa this season. Boumtje Boumtje has a strong case as the best future NBA prospect in college basketball.
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