March 8, 2009

• 2009 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Two-time defending ACC champion North Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the upcoming 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, which gets underway Thursday, March 12, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga. The second-ranked Tar Heels clinched their 17th outright ACC regular season title, and 27th overall, with Sunday’s 79-71 win over seventh-ranked Duke.

In addition to top-seeded North Carolina, Wake Forest (No. 2), Duke (No. 3), and Florida State (No. 4) all earned first round byes from Thursday’s opening round session. For 24th-ranked Florida State, it marks the first time that the Seminoles have earned a first-round bye since joining the conference in time for the 1991-92 season.

The 56th edition of the ACC Tournament is set to tip-off at noon ET on Thursday, March 12, and will conclude with a 1 p.m. championship contest on Sunday, March 15.

Thursday, March 12
No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 Miami, Noon (Raycom)
No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech, 2:00 p.m. (Raycom)
No. 7 Maryland vs. No. 10 NC State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 6 Boston College vs. No. 11 Virginia, 9:00 p.m. (Raycom)

Friday, March 13
Game No. 5: No. 1 North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech/Miami winner, Noon (Raycom/ESPN2)
Game No. 6: No. 4 Florida State vs. Clemson/Georgia Tech winner, 2:00 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN2)
Game No. 7: No. 2 Wake Forest vs. Maryland/NC State winner, 7:00 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN2)
Game No. 8: No. 3 Duke vs. Boston College/Virginia winner, 9:00 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN2)

Saturday, March 14
Game No. 9: ACC Semifinals, 1:30 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN) Game
No. 10 - ACC Semifinals, 3:30 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN)

Sunday, March 15
Game No. 11 - Championship Game, 1:00 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN)