2017–18 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season


The 2017–18 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in late December 2017 and will conclude in March with the 2018 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC. The regular season and tournament champions were the Louisville Cardinals.

Head coaches

Coaching changes

There were no coaching changes prior to the 2017–18 season. However, after the season ended, Erik Johnson resigned as the head coach of Boston College. Also after the season concluded it was announced that Audra Smith would not be returning as coach of Clemson.

Coaches

Notes:

Preseason watch lists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
LiebermanDrysdaleMillerMcClainLeslie
Lexie Brown – Duke
Chanette Hicks – Virginia Tech		Asia Durr – Louisville
Rebecca Greenwell – Duke
Arike Ogumbowale – Notre Dame		Shakayla Thomas – Florida StateMyisha Hines Allen – Louisville
Erykah Davenport – Miami
Leonna Odom – Duke		Akela Maize – NC State
Erin Mathias – Florida State
Chatrice White – Florida State

ACC Preseason Media Day

Prior to the start of the season, the ACC hosted a media day at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the media day, the head coaches voted on the finishing order of the teams, an All-ACC team, a Preseason Player of the Year, and Newcomers to watch. The media day was hosted on October 19, 2017. A selected group of student athletes also took questions from the media on this day.

ACC preseason polls

At ACC Media Day, the ACC Head Coaches voted on a final finishing order for all ACC teams, as well as a Blue Ribbon Panel. The results are shown below.
Head Coaches Poll
First place votes shown in parenthesis.

  1. Notre Dame – 212
  2. Louisville – 205
  3. Duke – 200
  4. Florida State – 188
  5. Virginia – 148
  6. Georgia Tech – 141
  7. Syracuse – 122
  8. Miami – 113
  9. North Carolina – 103
  10. NC State – 97
  11. Wake Forest – 90
  12. Virginia Tech – 82
  13. Clemson – 43
  14. Boston College – 37
  15. Pittsburgh – 19
    Blue Ribbon Panel
First place votes shown in parenthesis.

  1. Notre Dame – 858
  2. Louisville – 809
  3. Duke – 799
  4. Florida State – 752
  5. Miami – 515
  6. Virginia – 505
  7. Syracuse – 497
  8. NC State – 463
  9. Georgia Tech – 456
  10. North Carolina – 434
  11. Virginia Tech – 334
  12. Wake Forest – 316
  13. Pittsburgh – 193
  14. Clemson – 164
  15. Boston College – 86

    Preseason All-ACC Teams

Preseason ACC Player of the Year

Newcomer Watchlist

Regular season

Rankings

Note: The Coaches Poll releases a final poll after the NCAA tournament, but the AP Poll does not release a poll at this time.

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 16 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent.

Player of the week

Throughout the conference regular season, the Atlantic Coast Conference offices named a Player of the week and a Rookie of the week.
WeekPlayer of the weekRookie of the weekReference
November 13, 2017Asia Durr, LouisvilleMykea Grey, Miami
November 20, 2017Myisha Hines-Allen, LouisvilleJanelle Bailey, North Carolina
November 27, 2017Jackie Young, Notre DameMykea Grey, Miami
November 27, 2017Tiana Mangakahia, SyracuseMykea Grey, Miami
December 4, 2017Shakayla Thomas, Florida StateJanelle Bailey, North Carolina
December 11, 2017Lexie Brown, DukeDigna Strautmane, Syracuse
December 18, 2017Jessica Shepard, Notre DameJanelle Bailey, North Carolina
December 26, 2017Lexie Brown, DukeMilan Bolden-Morris, Boston College
January 2, 2018Asia Durr, LouisvilleJanelle Bailey, North Carolina
January 2, 2018Imani Wright, Florida StateJanelle Bailey, North Carolina
January 8, 2018Tiana Mangakahia, SyracuseMilan Bolden-Morris, Boston College
January 15, 2018Asia Durr, LouisvilleJanelle Bailey, North Carolina
January 22, 2018Arike Ogunbowale, Notre DameAmaya Finklea-Guity, Syracuse
January 29, 2018Jessica Shepard, Notre DameDigna Strautmane, Syracuse
February 5, 2018Asia Durr, LouisvilleDigna Strautmane, Syracuse
February 12, 2018Taylor Emery, Virginia TechJanelle Bailey, North Carolina
February 19, 2018Elisa Penna, Wake ForestKierra Fletcher, Georgia Tech
February 26, 2018Lexie Brown, DukeJanelle Bailey, North Carolina

Postseason

ACC Tournament

NCAA Tournament

SeedRegionSchool1st Round2nd RoundSweet 16Elite EightFinal FourChampionship
1LexingtonLouisvilleW 74–42 vs. #16 Boise State – W 90–72 vs. #8 Marquette – W 86–59 vs. #4 Stanford – W 76–43 vs. #6 Oregon State – L 63–73 vs. #1 Mississippi State –
1SpokaneNotre DameW 99–81 vs. #16 Cal State Northridge – W 98–72 vs. #9 Villanova – W 90–84 vs. #4 Texas A&M – W 84–74 vs. #2 Oregon – W 91–89 vs. #1 Connecticut – W 61–58 vs. #1 Mississippi State –
3AlbanyFlorida StateW 91–49 vs. #14 Little Rock – L 65–86 vs. #11 Buffalo –
4Kansas CityNC StateW 62–35 vs. #13 Elon – W 74–60 vs. #5 Maryland – L 57–71 vs. #1 Mississippi State –
5AlbanyDukeW 72–58 vs. #12 Belmont – W 66–40 vs. #4 Georgia – L 59–72 vs. #1 Connecticut –
8AlbanyMiamiL 72–86 vs. #9 Quinnipiac –
8Kansas CitySyracuseL 57–84 vs. #9 Oklahoma State –
10AlbanyVirginiaW 68–62 vs. #7 Cal – L 56–66 vs. #2 South Carolina –
W–L : Total:

National Invitation Tournament

School1st Round2nd Round3rd RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship
Georgia TechW 85–32 vs. Bethune–Cookman – W 91–47 vs. UAB – L 59–61 vs. Alabama –
Virginia TechW 56–55 vs. Navy – W 78–69 vs. George Mason – W 81–50 vs. Fordham – W 74–67 vs. Alabama – W 64–61 vs. West Virginia – L 57–65 vs. Indiana –
W–L : Total:

Honors and awards

ACC Awards

WNBA Draft

The ACC had 5 players selected in the 2018 WNBA draft.
PlayerTeamRoundPick #PositionSchool
Lexie BrownConnecticut Sun19GDuke
Myisha Hines-AllenWashington Mystics219FLouisville
Shakayla ThomasLos Angeles Sparks223FFlorida State
Imani WrightPhoenix Mercury326GFlorida State
Rebecca GreenwellWashington Mystics331GDuke