Cliff notes on every ACC basketball team
Repurposing the football fan guide
Prior to the football season, I put together the ultimate ACC fan guide. I’m running it back with a basketball focus, so learn each school’s location, mascot, basketball vibes, fan trope and notable people. Teams are loosely ranked by basketball prominence1 (though I have a table tallying 5-year win totals at the bottom).
UNC
Duke
UVA
NC State
Louisville
Syracuse
FSU
Miami
Clemson
Wake
Pitt
Notre Dame
GT
VT
Stanford
Cal
BC
SMU
(1) UNC
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Mascot: Tar Heels. Disputed history on the name. Our mascot is a ram named Ramses. The real-life ram version is…burdened with a heavy load6
Basketball Vibes: One of the Blue Bloods. Iconic coaches, players, uniforms, moments and just about any other dimension of college basketball. Less widely hated than Duke but probably still annoying to some fans. We play (in my biased opinion), the most aesthetically beautiful brand of basketball that prioritizes pace and passing. Recent seasons have been up and down: Roy Williams’ retirement (before it was cool), the Iron 5 Final Four run, missing the tournament as preseason number one and then exceeding expectations last season.
The one knock on UNC is that we haven’t produced a star NBA player in awhile. Luckily, as far as I know, NBA results still do not count toward college basketball standings/rankings (sorry, Duke)
5-Year ACC Win Total: 59 (3rd)
Student / Fan Trope: You’ll hear “wine and cheese” crowd2 , meaning we’re hoity-toity and too fancy to get in the mud like real fans. As the fan who went to games painted up and screaming, I hate how true that is. We’re not as preppy as UVA but, damn, there are a lot of quiet polos and khakis on game day.
If it’s not clear already, I’m unapologetically a UNC fan. College basketball is my favorite sport, so while I can maintain somewhat objective about football (and will try to remain somewhat objective about basketball), there will also be plenty of UNC-specific posts during basketball season
Notable People: Michael Jordan, Dean Smith, Roy Williams, Vince Carter, Tyler Hansborough, Hubert Davis (current coach)
(2) Duke
Location: Durham, NC
Mascot: Blue Devils. Timeless logo, colors and jerseys (in basketball, at least).
Basketball Vibes: Also one of the undisputed Blue Bloods. But generally hated in the Cowboys, Lakers, Yankees, Death Star, Evil Empire realm (although Jon Scheyer is distinctly less hated). I wrote an entire piece just on Duke hatred. Coach K is gone, but the parade of top-ranked, wildly hyped recruiting classes continues (see: Cooper Flagg)
5-Year ACC Win Total: 60 (1st)
Student / Fan Trope: Elitist, snobby, all from New Jersey. I know some Dukies3 and I generally like them, but it’s fun to hate (and hating is the point of a rivalry, anyways).
Notable People: Coach K, Christian Laettner, Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum, Grayson Allen, Cooper Flagg, Jon Scheyer (current coach)
(3) Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Mascot: Cavaliers. Also go by the Wahoos/Hoos. My only note is that their mascot looks eerily like UNC legend Luke Maye4
Basketball Vibes: TBD?? I’ve ranked UVA third out of respect for the stellar career of Tony Bennett. UVA has rich basketball history preceding Bennett, but many teams in the ACC have rich histories, and UVA’s recent run was on par (or better than) UNC’s and Duke’s. The slow-offense/pack-line-D style was showing cracks before Bennett’s retirement, so we’ll see how the program looks in a few years. With Bennett, basketball was abhorrent to watch but extremely effective. Now? It might just be the least appealing brand of basketball that produces mediocre results
5-Year ACC Win Total: 68 (2nd)
Student / Fan Trope: Preppy. They also have a cultish reverence for Thomas Jefferson. They’ve become deluded into thinking that shot clock violations and scoring 40 points counts as exciting basketball
Notable People: Ralph Sampson, Cory Alexander, Malcolm Brogdon, Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, Tony Bennett Ron Sanchez (current coach)
(4) NC State
Location: Raleigh, NC
Mascot: Wolfpack. The loud, aggressive red is really the only color that captures State fan energy
Basketball Vibes: Ranking State fourth isn’t just recency bias after last season’s surprise Final Four run. State has great basketball history, but, man, is it history (as in, a really long time ago). State hasn’t really had a distinct basketball identity in recent years. Last year was a collection of transfers that meshed late in the season, so I don’t see a repeat coming. Let’s remember that Kevin Keatts’ seat was toasty before the Pack’s wild March. With UVA trending down, ACC basketball needs State (or Wake or Louisville or Pitt) to become prominent again
5-Year ACC Win Total: 44 (T-9th)
Student / Fan Trope: Passionate for sure, but also a bit tortured and paranoid, like the crazy uncle who can be a fun time but then rambles about conspiracy theories when he’s had one too many. Lots of lashing out. Pack Pride is a wild place. But again, passionate, which I respect
Notable People: Jimmy V, David Thompson, CJ Leslie5, DJ Burns, Kevin Keatts (current coach)
(5) Louisville
Location: Louisville, KY
Mascot: Cardinals (bird, not the color, who tf has a color as a mascot6). Unclear why it has teeth.
Basketball Vibes: They might be back? Louisville won (vacated) a national title in 2013, made a Final Four in 2012 and had another Final Four and three Elite Eight appearances during Rick Pitino’s tenure. Since then, there have been scandals and uuugly basketball, especially Kenny Payne’s 12-52 (5-35 in the ACC) record the past two seasons. Pat Kelsey’s fun style and haul of transfers could right the ship.
5-Year ACC Win Total: 34 (14th)
Student / Fan Trope: Rowdy, definitely more lively and fun than some other fanbases. Miiight be verging close to trashy but a welcome reprieve from ACC preppiness
Notable People: Wes Unseld, Darrell Griffith, Russ Smith, Luke Hancock, Papa John, Rick Pitino, Pat Kelsey (current coach)
(6) Syracuse
Location: Syracuse, NY
Mascot: Orange (as far as I can tell the fruit and not the color)
Basketball Vibes: Under Coach Boeheim, Cuse played the 2-3 zone and seemingly lived on the bubble every season (at least in the ACC7). Then they’d make inexplicable tourney runs: two Sweet 16s as an 11 seed (2018, 2021) and a Final Four (2021) as a 10 seed. They never had the best talent (not counting Melo) but always seemed to have one great individual scorer. Not sure what to make of this team without Boeheim, though.
5-Year ACC Win Total: 49 (6th)
Student / Fan Trope: Again, never met one but I guess they’re cold? Temperature-wise, not disposition, because Syracuse gets more snow than anywhere else in the U.S. Cuse is big broadcasting school so many announcers went there.
Notable People: Jim Boeheim, Pearl Johnson, Carmelo Anthony, Adrian Autry (current coach)
(7) FSU
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Mascot: Seminoles
Basketball Vibes: Like FSU football last year, when the Noles were left out of the CFP, FSU basketball fans have legitimate claims of national title aspirations being stolen away. In 2020, before March Madness was cancelled because of COVID, FSU had won the ACC regular season and would’ve likely been a 1 seed. FSU made the Sweet 16 in every other tournament from 2018 through 2021, including an Elite Eight in 2018. They looked like they might join UNC, Duke and UVA at the top of conference. They’ve sputtered since that ascension. With Coach K, Roy, Jim Boeheim and now Tony Bennett retired, Leonard Hamilton (age 76, 23 seasons at FSU) could also be the next retirement domino to fall
5-Year ACC Win Total: 54 (4th)
Fan / Student Trope: Party school plus the football dimension of Florida Man
Notable People: Sam Cassell, Charlie Ward, Scottie Barnes, Leonard Hamilton (current coach)
(8) Miami
Location: Miami, FL
Mascot: Hurricanes. The U. Another classic logo and color combo. Their ibis is also pretty cool looking
Basketball Vibes: Unlike Miami football, whose success was mostly in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Miami basketball has had its most successful seasons recently. All five of the school’s Sweet 16s have come since 2000, and the only Elite Eight (2022, 2023) and Final Four (2023) runs are still fresh. With Coach K, Roy, Jim Boeheim and now Tony Bennett retired, Jim Larranaga (age 75, 14 seasons at Miami) might also be the next retirement domino to fall
5-Year ACC Win Total: 46 (7th)
Student / Fan Trope: Party school but with the gilded glamor of Miami rather than the Florida Man angle. Might get big mad if you do the U-down hand motion, similar to the Texas horns-down.
Notable People: Rick Barry, Shane Larkin, Isaiah Wong, Jim Larranaga (current coach)
(9) Clemson
Location: Clemson, SC
Mascot: Tigers. The chant where they spell out C-L-E-M-S-O-N is annoying.
Basketball Vibes: Unlike Clemson’s unavoidable presence in football, they’re just…kinda there…in basketball. Never super good (best ACC finish is 3rd in the Brad Brownell era) or bad, usually hanging around the middle of the league. But they’ve been making noise in recent seasons, capped by last year’s Elite Eight run that matched their best-ever season (1980)
5-Year ACC Win Total: 52 (5th)
Student / Fan Trope: Just picture Dabo. Golf polo, khakis, not a ton of swag but a ton of self assurance.
Notable People: Trevor Booker, Aamir Simms, PJ Hall, Brad Brownell (current coach)
(10) Wake Forest
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Mascot: Demon Deacons. The name is a bit oxymoronic but he rides a sweet motorcycle and once officiated a wedding between other mascots, so he’s cool in my book
Basketball Vibes: It feels like Wake should be better at basketball, or at least have more basketball history? Maybe I’m conflating them with all the other North Carolina schools. Wake’s only stretches of basketball prominence were when Tim Duncan and Chris Paul were on campus. They only have one Final Four (1962), their last Elite Eight was 1996, their last Sweet 16 was 2004 and they only have one tourney appearance since 2010
5-Year ACC Win Total: 43 (11th)
Student / Fan Trope: A strange mix of a dash of UVA’s preppiness, a touch of Duke’s elitism and a sprinkle of State’s defensiveness.
Notable People: Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, Muggsy Bogues, Josh Howard, Skip Prosser, Steve Forbes (current coach)
(11) Pitt
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Mascot: Panthers. I’m a big fan of the yellow-and-blue colorway and cursive PITT logo
Basketball Vibes: The early aughts Big East was the best, bruising conference in college basketball, with Pitt as a perennial factor. From 2002 through 2009, Pitt made five Sweet 16s (including an Elite 8 in 2009) but haven’t made it back since. Since joining the ACC, Pitt has been average at best
5-Year ACC Win Total: 44 (T-9th)
Student / Fan Trope: I’ve always appreciated how all of Pittsburgh’s pro sports teams share colors, so I like to imagine that Pitt students are also big Pens, Stillers and Pirates fans. Maybe I’m conflating Steelers fans with Pitt fans but I also like to imagine them as gritty and tough. The Zoo in basketball is an underrated student section
Notable People: Levance Fields, DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, Steven Adams, Jeff Capel (current coach)
(12) Notre Dame
Location: Notre Dame, IN
Mascot: Fighting Irish. One of the most iconic and classic uniform combos (although personally, I think they’re a little plain) in football, but they just don’t hit the same in basketball
Basketball Vibes: The Irish had a run from 2007 through 2017 when they only missed the tourney once, with a peak of back-to-back Elite Eights in 2015-16. They looked like they might become consistent challengers to UNC, Duke and UVA. Since then, they’ve finished above 0.500 in the ACC only once and made only one tourney, and Mike Brey retired
5-Year ACC Win Total: 42 (12th)
Student / Fan Trope: Catholic? Holier than though? Sure those apply, but in my mind, the defining trope of a Notre Dame fan is the persistent belief that this is the year (in football)
Notable People: Digger Phelps, Mike Brey, Luke Harangody, Jerian Grant, Bonzie Colson, Pat Connaughton, Micah Schrewsberry (current coach)
(13) Georgia Tech
Location: Atlanta, GA
Mascot: Yellow Jackets. But they drive an old-timey car called the Ramblin’ Wreck that is pretty cool.
Basketball Vibes: In 2004 (only the second year I started paying attention to college basketball), the Jackets lost in the national championship game to UConn. Since then…they’ve won two total tournament games (2005, 2010). They’ve been in the ACC since the late 1970s and have won it twice (1985, 1996). None of this is particularly great, yet they rank 12th out of 18 teams, so we still have a ways to go
5-Year ACC Win Total: 40 (13th)
Student / Fan Trope: Definitely more nerdy engineering8 energy rather than Hotlanta/ATL energy
Notable People: Chris Bosh, Mark Price, Kenny Anderson, Jarrett Jack, Stephon Marbury, Jose Alvarado, Damon Stoudamire (current coach)
(14) Virginia Tech
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Mascot: Hokies. That’s some sort of turkey9? Idk. The VT hand sign thing is pretty cool and Enter Sandman gets me going.
Basketball Vibes: Tech has had more tournament appearances (five since 2017) and success (two wins in that span) than some other ACC schools. But the Hokies lack the deep runs and storied history, with only a Sweet 16 in 2019 and an Elite Eight in 1967 (when the tournament was only 23 teams). Their best ACC finish is 3rd, although they made a surprise run to the ACC Tournament title in 2022
5-Year ACC Win Total: 45 (8th)
Student / Fan Trope: I know Blacksburg is rowdy and VT is known for engineering, but I don’t know much else.
Notable People: Dell Curry, Zabian Dowdell, Seth Greenberg, Buzz Williams, Erick Green, Mike Young (current coach)
(15) Stanford
Location: Stanford, CA
Mascot: Cardinal (the color?). Their mascot is a tree which is quirky and their marching band is famously goofy. While you likely associate Stanford with Silicon Valley and tech, it’s called The Farm (sorry, NC State) for its agrarian origins.
Basketball Vibes: From 1995 through 2008, Stanford made the tourney every year, including four Sweet 16s, two Elite Eigthss and a Final Four. Since then, they’ve made the tournament only once (2014), although they won the NIT twice (congrats?). At least they’re good at non-revenue sports
Student / Fan Trope: Bay Area vibes, meaning tech plus eccentric and eclectic interests. But relative to Cal, leans more toward the I-dropped-out-to-pursue-my-startup
Notable People: Lopez twins, Collins twins, Josh Childress, Landry Fields, Kyle Smith (current coach)
(16) Cal
Location: Berkeley, CA
Mascot: Golden Bears. The script logo is an absolute classic.
Basketball Vibes: Quite bad. They had solid runs in the 1990s (five tournaments), early aughts (five tournaments) and 2010s (four tournaments) but have been aggressively bad in recent seasons. Here are their conference records since 2019: 2-16, 3-15, 7-11, 3-17, 5-15, 2-18 (including 3-29 overall). Mark Madsen made some progress last year, posting a 9-11 (13-19 overall) record, but that stretch of 22-92 (19%) conference games is more sustained torture than even Lville’s recent struggles. At least they’re good at non-revenue sports
Student / Fan Trope: Bay Area vibes, but relative to Stanford, leans more to the counter-cultural dimension.
Notable People: Jason Kidd, Jaylen Brown, Leon Powe, Jerome Randle, Mark Madsen (current coach)
(17) Boston College
Location: Chestnut Hill, MA10
Mascot: Golden Eagles. Probably the plainest, least exciting color and jersey combos in the ACC in football but about average swag in basketball
Basketball Vibes: It’s hard to rank below Cal and their 19% conference win percentage in recent years, but there’s just no juice to the BC program. They’ve had strings of success (four tournaments in the 1980s, three in the ‘90s, seven in the 2000s) but last made a tourney in 2009. Since that last tourney run, they’ve had only one ACC record above 0.500 (9-7 in 2011) and have posted an 0-fer (0-18 in 2016)
5-Year ACC Win Total: 32 (15th)
Student / Fan Trope: I don’t know any personally but I imagine they have some weird complex about going to school “outside of Boston” (see the footnote for Chestnut Hill) but not at one of those “outside of Boston” schools
Notable People: Jared Dudley, Craig Smith, Jerome Robinson, Al Skinner, Earl Grant (current coach)
(18) SMU
Location: Dallas, TX
Mascot: Mustangs. Clean but uninspiring jerseys, logo and colorway
Basketball Vibes: SMU proved they can hang with the big boys in football, as they currently lead the ACC and have a real chance at the CFP. So this ranking is less about their ability to pour money into sports as they jump to the P4 and more about their lack of history and success in basketball. They have two tournament appearances (2015, 2017) and zero tournament wins this millennium, and now they face the step up in competition from the American
Student / Fan Trope: Texans, for sure, but not necessarily the belt-buckle bravado type. There’s some spoiled, using-daddy’s-oil-money, keeping up with the (Jerry) Joneses energy permeating through SMU.
Notable People: Larry Brown, Quinton Ross, Semi Ojeleye, Sterling Brown, Shake Milton, Andy Enfield (current coach)
Read the Rest of the Fan Guide
Similar to the football fan guide, I’m kicking off basketball season by packaging a number of posts. For the long-time readers, some are re-posts of prior work, but there’s new content on preseason expectations (and UNC, specifically).
[You are here] Cliff notes on every team (basketball version)
Transfer projections for the biggest ACC transfers [re-post]
The ACC’s new coaches (plus Ron Sanchez) [re-post]
UNC-Fans Only:
Things get pretty crowded in the middle, so of all things to take offense from this post, don’t get too worked up about the rankings.
The actual quote (from Sam Cassell) was “cheese and wine” but hey historgramics.
This actually undersells my connection to Duke. My best friend/best man at my wedding went to Duke, and I genuinely enjoyed the people and campus at Duke whenever I visited. Cameron is the size of a high school gym but is unmatched in atmosphere. Lest I sound like a Duke apologist, hold these all these Ls, Dukies.
UVA Cavalier vs Luke Maye pictures (via The Spun and CBS Sports)
Yes, this is a joke @Stanford (and maybe @Cuse?)
When Cuse was in the Big East, they were consistently a top 4 seed
The GT fight song even exclaims that they’re good engineers
I suppose not just “some turkey.” The hokie is the supreme leader and god of all turkeys, wow. Also VT used to be the Fighting Gobblers? That’s awesome
Apparently BC is not “in Boston.” Man, do certain northeast schools lean heavily into the “school outside of Boston” line