2018–19 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season


The 2018–19 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in late December 2018 and concluded in March with the 2019 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The season marks 65th season of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball.

Head Coaches

Coaching changes

Notes:

Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
WoodenNaismithCousyWestErvingMaloneAbdul-JabbarOlson
RJ Barrett – Duke
Tyus Battle – Syracuse
Ky Bowman – Boston College
Kyle Guy – Virginia
De'Andre Hunter – Virginia
Nassir Little – North Carolina
Luke Maye – North Carolina
Cam Reddish – Duke
Justin Robinson – Virginia Tech
Zion Williamson – Duke		RJ Barrett – Duke
Tyus Battle – Syracuse
Ky Bowman – Boston College
Kyle Guy – Virginia
De'Andre Hunter – Virginia
Nassir Little – North Carolina
Luke Maye – North Carolina
Cam Reddish – Duke
Justin Robinson – Virginia Tech
Zion Williamson – Duke		Ky Bowman – Boston College
Tre Jones – Duke
Ty Jerome – Virginia
Justin Robinson – Virginia Tech		RJ Barrett – Duke
T. J. Gibbs – Notre Dame
Tyus Battle – Syracuse
Kyle Guy – Virginia		Cam Reddish – Duke
Nassir Little – North Carolina
Oshae Brissett – Syracuse
De'Andre Hunter – Virginia
Jaylen Hoard – Wake Forest		Zion Williamson – Duke
Luke Maye – North Carolina		Dewan Hernandez – MiamiTyus Battle – Syracuse
Ky Bowman – Boston College
Kyle Guy – Virginia
De'Andre Hunter – Virginia
Luke Maye – North Carolina
Justin Robinson – Virginia Tech

Preseason polls

APAthlon
Sports		Bleacher
Report		Blue Ribbon
Yearbook		CBS SportsCoachesESPNKenPomNBC SportsSBNationSports
Illustrated
Boston College836661
Clemson222217302314222024
Duke43346352443
Florida State1716131519151915141914
Georgia Tech12192127
LouisvilleRV65RV6350
MiamiRV41RV2147
North Carolina875128763978
NC StateRV2347RV2336243135
Notre DameRV33RV5934
Pittsburgh150139206
Syracuse161420221414138192222
Virginia587755124827
Virginia Tech15122413171422121315
Wake Forest1289185

ACC Preseason Media Poll

Coaches, players, and the media met at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina for a media day on October 24, 2018. Players and coaches met the media, and coaches voted on the preseason conference poll and preseason All-ACC Teams. Results of the polls are shown below.

Preseason Poll

First place votes shown in parenthesis.
  1. Duke – 1709
  2. Virginia – 1699
  3. North Carolina – 1641
  4. Syracuse – 1268
  5. Virginia Tech – 1187
  6. Clemson – 1148
  7. Florida State – 1127
  8. NC State – 885
  9. Notre Dame – 859
  10. Miami – 816
  11. Louisville – 735
  12. Boston College– 568
  13. Georgia Tech – 324
  14. Wake Forest – 313
  15. Pittsburgh – 241

    Preseason All-ACC Teams

ACC Preseason Player of the Year

Rankings

Notes:
The week 2 Coaches Poll was released on the same date as the week 3 AP poll. No Coaches poll was released on the date when the week 2 AP Poll was released.
The AP poll does not release a final poll after the NCAA Tournament, where as the Coaches Poll does.

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 18 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent.

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 Rookies of the week.
WeekPlayer of the weekRookie of the weekReference
1 – Nov. 12Zion Williamson – DukeZion Williamson – Duke
2 – Nov. 19Nickeil Alexander-Walker – Virginia TechJalen Carey – Syracuse
3 – Nov. 26De'Andre Hunter – VirginiaCoby White – North Carolina
4 – Dec. 3Tyus Battle – SyracuseRJ Barrett – Duke
5 – Dec. 10RJ Barrett – DukeRJ Barrett – Duke
6 – Dec. 17Cameron Johnson – North CarolinaWynston Tabbs – Boston College
7 – Dec. 23Markell Johnson – NC StateTre Jones – Duke
8 – Dec. 31Tyus Battle – SyracuseTrey McGowens – Pittsburgh
9 – Jan. 7Kyle Guy – VirginiaZion Williamson – Duke
10 – Jan. 14Dwayne Sutton – LouisvilleTrey McGowens – Pittsburgh
11 – Jan. 21Tyus Battle – SyracuseZion Williamson – Duke
12 – Jan. 28Justin Robinson – Virginia TechCoby White – North Carolina
12 – Jan. 28Justin Robinson – Virginia TechRJ Barrett – Duke
13 – Feb. 4Nickeil Alexander-Walker – Virginia TechZion Williamson – Duke
14 – Feb. 11Luke Maye – North CarolinaCoby White – North Carolina
15 – Feb. 18Zion Williamson – DukeZion Williamson – Duke
16 – Feb. 25Luke Maye – North CarolinaRJ Barrett – Duke
17 – Mar. 4Coby White – North CarolinaCoby White – North Carolina
18 – Mar. 11Ty Jerome – VirginiaCoby White – North Carolina

Records against other conferences

2018–19 records against non-conference foes through games played on February 2, 2019. Records shown for regular season only.

Postseason

ACC Tournament

The ACC had seven teams selected to the NCAA Tournament. This was tied for second overall with the SEC. The ACC's three number one seeded teams ties an all-time record. The previous time one conference had three number one seeds was in 2009, when the Big East accomplished the feat.
SeedRegionSchool1st Round2nd RoundSweet 16Elite EightFinal FourChampionship
1EastDukeW 85–62 vs. #16 North Dakota State – W 77–76 vs. #9 UCF – W 75–73 vs. #4 Virginia Tech – L 67–68 vs. #2 Michigan State –
1MidwestNorth CarolinaW 88–73 vs. #16 Iona – W 81–59 vs. #9 Washington – L 80–97 vs. #5 Auburn –
1SouthVirginiaW 71–56 vs. #16 Gardner–Webb – W 63–51 vs. #9 Oklahoma – W 53–49 vs. #12 Oregon – W 80–75 vs. #2 Purdue – W 63–62 vs. #5 Auburn – W 85–77 vs. #3 Texas Tech –
4WestFlorida StateW 76–69 vs. #13 Vermont – W 90–62 vs. #12 Murray State – L 58–72 vs. #1 Gonzaga –
4EastVirginia TechW 66–52 vs. #13 Saint Louis – W 67–58 vs. #12 Liberty – L 73–75 vs. #1 Duke –
7EastLouisvilleL 76–88 vs. #10 Minnesota –
8WestSyracuseL 69–78 vs. #9 Baylor –
W–L : Total:

National Invitation Tournament

SeedBracketSchool1st Round2nd RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship
2IndianaClemsonW 75–69 vs. Wright State – L 63–55 vs. Wichita State –
2UNC-GreensboroNC StateW 84–78 vs. Hofstra – W 78–77 vs. Harvard – L 93–94 vs. Lipscomb –
W–L : Total:

Honors and awards

All-Americans

Consensus All-Americans-
First TeamSecond Team
RJ Barrett – Duke
Zion Williamson – Duke		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.

ACC Awards

NBA Draft

The Atlantic Coast Conference had a record six players selected in the lottery picks of the NBA Draft. Their ten first round selections tied the record for most first round selections from a conference in a single year. Also, the ACC had the most selections of any conference in the draft. The ACC also became the first conference to have five top-ten picks in the modern draft era.
PGPoint guardSGShooting guardSFSmall forwardPFPower forwardCCenter

PlayerTeamRoundPick #PositionSchool
Zion WilliamsonNew Orleans Pelicans11PFDuke
RJ BarrettNew York Knicks13SG/SFDuke
De'Andre HunterAtlanta Hawks14SFVirginia
Coby WhiteChicago Bulls17PGNorth Carolina
Cam ReddishAtlanta Hawks110SFDuke
Cameron JohnsonPhoenix Suns111SGNorth Carolina
Nickeil Alexander-WalkerNew Orleans Pelicans117SGVirginia Tech
Ty JeromePhiladelphia 76ers124PGVirginia
Nassir LittlePortland Trail Blazers125SFNorth Carolina
Mfiondu KabengeleBrooklyn Nets127CFlorida State
Terance MannLos Angeles Clippers248SFFlorida State
Kyle GuyNew York Knicks255PGVirginia
Dewan HernandezToronto Raptors259PFMiami

Attendance

TeamArenaCapacityGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Game 6Game 7Game 8Game 9Game 10TotalAverage% of Capacity
TeamArenaCapacityGame 11Game 12Game 13Game 14Game 15Game 16Game 17Game 18Game 19Game 20TotalAverage% of Capacity
Boston CollegeConte Forum8,6063,7633,9743,2444,3893,4105,4533,2954,6645,4725,73894,3775,24360.9%
Boston CollegeConte Forum8,6065,5336,8628,6063,4637,2514,2507,7317,27994,3775,24360.9%
ClemsonLittlejohn Coliseum9,0007,4917,2086,2276,9746,2547,2256,5757,8799,4246,693128,3067,54783.9%
ClemsonLittlejohn Coliseum9,0006,4747,6559,0007,5497,8109,2488,620128,3067,54783.9%
DukeCameron Indoor Stadium9,3149,3149,3149,3149,3149,3149,3149,3149,3149,3149,314158,3389,314100%
DukeCameron Indoor Stadium9,3149,3149,3149,3149,3149,3149,3149,314158,3389,314100%
Florida StateDonald L. Tucker Center12,10011,1037,4579,9787,8385,7266,2097,23710,53111,6758,502146,0369,12775.4%
Florida StateDonald L. Tucker Center12,10010,18111,6757,8069,5199,98810,611146,0369,12775.4%
Georgia TechMcCamish Pavilion8,6004,6914,9224,1754,3064,9514,2688,6005,5894,3976,397107,0035,94557.5%
Georgia TechMcCamish Pavilion8,6006,1668,6005,8618,6005,6368,6004,9596,285107,0035,94557.5%
LouisvilleKFC Yum! Center22,09015,35514,93915,97715,47714,92014,19715,11716,24920,88215,050298,82616,60175.2%
LouisvilleKFC Yum! Center22,09014,89816,32216,92919,98522,04616,04317,52916,911298,82616,60175.2%
MiamiWatsco Center7,9726,7996,0666,3226,3766,5536,2226,7896,9837,1977,131106,1366,63483.2%
MiamiWatsco Center7,9727,1226,6806,3726,3386,8136,373106,1366,63483.2%
North CarolinaDean Smith Center21,75019,64720,81620,54720,08321,75021,48621,32921,24320,47521,148337,18621,07496.9%
North CarolinaDean Smith Center21,75021,12421,38321,75021,52021,13521,750337,18621,07496.9%
NC StatePNC Arena19,72213,63213,58613,62013,29013,30812,82817,79314,87715,09819,722283,96615,77680.0%
NC StatePNC Arena19,72217,69518,18018,21119,50016,33514,43516,05315,803283,96615,77680.0%
Notre DameEdmund P. Joyce Center9,1496,4626,6845,9886,5116,1616,7518,0536,3596,5118,086144,9267,62883.4%
Notre DameEdmund P. Joyce Center9,1498,2458,4428,7099,1499,1498,4388,2868,7848,158144,9267,62883.4%
PittsburghPetersen Events Center12,5084,7294,3213,2852,5783,5403,4684,4723,9886,18212,508121,4736,74954.0%
PittsburghPetersen Events Center12,5086,2906,78012,88112,5088,95010,2896,1028,602121,4736,74954.0%
SyracuseCarrier Dome35,44619,91621,01216,58621,54720,41624,08217,58518,62018,80821,968417,85621,99262.0%
SyracuseCarrier Dome35,44617,28919,25724,46621,05821,55326,01122,98835,64229,052417,85621,99262.0%
VirginiaJohn Paul Jones Arena14,59313,80713,57413,97113,39713,64814,62314,62314,62314,62314,273225,39214,08796.5%
VirginiaJohn Paul Jones Arena14,59313,97814,62913,44814,09413,45214,629225,39214,08796.5%
Virginia TechCassell Coliseum10,0527,7367,4749,2757,7485,3056,6817,6328,0087,0099,275122,5188,16881.3%
Virginia TechCassell Coliseum10,0529,2759,2759,2759,2759,2759,275122,5188,16881.3%
Wake ForestLJVM Coliseum14,6655,5725,1094,7415,2486,1495,9754,87814,26810,1579,487122,0147,62652.0%
Wake ForestLJVM Coliseum14,6657,0315,17014,3525,2839,7218,873122,0147,62652.0%