After years of slipping out of the national spotlight, ACC men’s basketball is finally showing signs of a real resurgence. For a league that once set the bar in March, recent seasons have felt like a far cry from its glory days.
Since 2021, no more than five ACC teams have made the NCAA Tournament in a single year. And you’d have to go back to 2019 to find more than two teams from the conference earning top-four seeds.
But two months into the 2025-26 season, there’s a different energy. The numbers are better.
The wins are bigger. And the league, top to bottom, feels more competitive than it has in years.
A key turning point? A subtle but strategic move by ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips: bringing back the 18-game conference schedule for the first time since 2018-19.
That change gave teams more room to schedule impactful non-conference games - the kind that can move the needle with the NCAA selection committee. The idea was simple: fewer league games, more chances to rack up quality wins and boost the conference’s national profile.
So far, that gamble is paying off.
Last season, the ACC’s non-conference performance was, frankly, brutal. The league went 17-51 against other power conferences (Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Big East).
In Quadrant 1 games - the NCAA’s highest tier of resume-boosting matchups - the ACC managed just 10 wins against 50 losses. Only six ACC teams even cracked the NET top 75, and outside of Duke’s run to a No. 1 seed and the Final Four, there wasn’t much to hang your hat on.
This year? A different story.
ACC teams are holding their own, going 38-39 against power-conference opponents in non-conference play - a massive step forward. In Quadrant 1 games, the league is 16-31.
Still below .500, but a noticeable improvement. More importantly, the overall depth is stronger: four teams are in the NET top 30, and seven more sit between 31 and 75.
That’s 11 teams in the top 75 - nearly three-quarters of the league - compared to just six at this time last year. Even Stanford, now part of the ACC, just missed the cut at No.
And the bracketologists are taking notice. As of December 16, ESPN projects eight ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament field. If that projection holds, it would be the conference’s largest showing since 2018 - a clear sign that the committee is once again viewing ACC wins as meaningful.
One of the biggest reasons for the turnaround? Virginia.
A year ago, the Cavaliers finished 15-17 and barely made a ripple nationally. Their 7-5 non-conference record didn’t do the league any favors.
But under first-year head coach Ryan Odom and a revamped roster built largely through the transfer portal, UVA has flipped the narrative. The ‘Hoos are 11-1, with just one non-conference game left - a February 14 matchup with Ohio State.
They’re back in the AP Top 25 at No. 21 and sit at No. 30 in the NET rankings. More than that, they delivered one of the ACC’s most emphatic wins of the season: a blowout over Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
That kind of statement victory - against a big-name opponent, in a high-visibility setting - matters. It doesn’t just help Virginia’s resume; it boosts the value of every ACC team that plays them.
Virginia’s rise is part of a broader wave of improvement across the league. Several programs have made major climbs in the NET rankings since last season:
- Miami: +190
- Virginia Tech: +111
- NC State: +102
- Cal: +82
- Virginia: +80
- Syracuse: +42
- Notre Dame: +21
That kind of upward movement shows that this isn’t just about one or two teams carrying the load - it’s a league-wide push.
And while the ACC didn’t completely flip the script in this year’s ACC/SEC Challenge, it came a lot closer. Last year, the SEC dominated 14-2, with most of those ACC losses coming in lopsided fashion.
This time around, the SEC still won the series, but just 9-7. The ACC picked up a handful of solid wins, and the blowouts were few and far between.
Combined with stronger records against other power leagues and a deeper pool of quality teams, it’s a sign that the ACC is clawing its way back into national relevance.
Now, let’s be clear - the job isn’t done. The ACC still isn’t matching the Big 12, Big Ten, or SEC punch for punch.
One good non-conference stretch doesn’t erase several years of underachievement. But the trajectory is finally pointing in the right direction.
And for programs like Virginia - helping lead the charge - that shift in perception could be critical come March. When the committee sits down to hand out seeds, league reputation matters. And for the first time in a while, the ACC is giving them a reason to take a second look.