The 2021–22 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in December 2021 and concluded March 8–12, 2022, with the 2022 ACC men's basketball tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. This was the 68th season of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball.

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Roy Williams retired after serving as the head coach at North Carolina for 18 seasons. Hubert Davis was hired as the next head coach of North Carolina. Boston College fired Jim Christian in the middle of the season, after leading the team to a 3–13 record. Christian's overall record with Boston College was 78–132 and 26–94 in ACC play. Scott Spinelli served as interim coach until the end of the season. After the season Earl Grant was hired as the new head coach.

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Record at school ACC record ACC titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsBoston College Earl Grant Charleston 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0Clemson Brad Brownell Wright State 12 201–149 95–99 0 3 0 0Duke Mike Krzyzewski Army 42 1097–302 449–189 16 35 12 5Florida State Leonard Hamilton Washington Wizards 20 399–228 176–146 1 11 0 0Georgia Tech Josh Pastner Memphis 6 82–75 42–49 1 1 0 0Louisville Chris Mack Xavier 4 57–28 33–18 0 1 0 0Miami Jim Larrañaga George Mason 11 200–130 91–90 1 4 1 0NC State Kevin Keatts UNC Wilmington 5 79–47 39–34 0 1 0 0North Carolina Hubert Davis North Carolina (Assistant) 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0Notre Dame Mike Brey Delaware 22 448–248 207–159 1 12 0 0Pittsburgh Jeff Capel Duke (Assistant) 4 40–48 15–38 0 0 0 0Syracuse Jim Boeheim Syracuse (Assistant) 45 964–399 404–247 0 32 4 1Virginia Tony Bennett Washington State 13 295–103 149–62 2 8 1 1Virginia Tech Mike Young Wofford 3 31–23 16–17 0 1 0 0Wake Forest Steve Forbes East Tennessee State 2 6–16 3–15 0 0 0 0 Notes: Year at school includes 2021–22 season. Overall and ACC records are from the time at current school and are through the end of the 2020–21 season. NCAA tournament appearances are from the time at current school only. NCAA Final Fours and championship include time at other schools

Preseason

Recruiting classes

+ Rankings Team ESPN 247 Sports Rivals Commits Boston College 92 82 2 Clemson 47 64 3 Duke 6 5 4 Florida State 8 8 4 Georgia Tech 28 33 3 Louisville 17 19 3 Miami 24 30 3 NC State 25 45 3 North Carolina 41 34 2 Notre Dame 56 60 2 Pittsburgh 105 82 (t) 1 Syracuse 72 54 1 Virginia 80 77 2 Virginia Tech 75 76 2 Wake Forest 43 48 3

Notes: Rankings are up to date as of November 3, 2021 NR stands for not ranked.

Preseason watchlists

WoodenNaismithCousyWestErvingMaloneAbdul-JabbarOlson Keve Aluma – Virginia TechArmando Bacot – North CarolinaPaolo Banchero – DukeBuddy Boeheim – SyracuseDawson Garcia – North CarolinaMark Williams – Duke Armando Bacot – North CarolinaBuddy Boeheim – SyracuseKeve Aluma – Virginia TechPaolo Banchero – Duke Jeremy Roach – DukeCaleb Love – North CarolinaKihei Clark – Virginia Isaiah Wong – MiamiBuddy Boeheim – Syracuse AJ Griffin – DukeMatthew Cleveland – Florida State Paolo Banchero – DukeDawson Garcia – North CarolinaJayden Gardner – VirginiaKeve Aluma – Virginia Tech Mark Williams – DukeArmando Bacot – North Carolina Keve Aluma – Virginia TechArmando Bacot – North CarolinaPaolo Banchero – DukeBuddy Boeheim – SyracuseMark Williams – Duke

Preseason polls

AP AthlonSports BleacherReport Blue RibbonYearbook CBS Sports Coaches ESPN KenPom SportsIllustratedBoston College 174 146 Clemson 65 59 Duke 9 6 4 8 15 9 11 10 3Florida State 20 17 11 14 24 19 21 24 10Georgia Tech 64 54 Louisville RV 30 36 Miami 70 83 North Carolina 19 12 17 16 20 20 17 40 NC State 69 56 Notre Dame RV 50 RV 27 Pittsburgh 108 145 Syracuse RV 25 46 RV 41 Virginia 25 21-T 27 25 25 45 Virginia Tech RV 23 44 RV 39 Wake Forest 113 104

ACC Preseason Media poll

The Preseason Media Poll and Preseason All-ACC teams were voted on after a tipoff event held at the Charlotte Marriott City Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 12, 2021. Voting for the polls opened on October 13 and concluded on October 18. The polls and teams were announced on the ACC Network on October 19, 2021. Duke was selected the preseason favorite.

Preseason poll

Duke – 1,132 (47) Florida State – 1,034 (14) North Carolina – 1,001 (5) Virginia – 949 (9) Virginia Tech – 857 (5) Louisville – 791 (1) Syracuse – 781 Notre Dame – 599 NC State – 555 Georgia Tech – 524 Clemson – 430 Miami – 428 Wake Forest – 274 Pitt – 253 Boston College – 112 First-place votes shown in parentheses.

Preseason All-ACC teams

2021 ACC Men's Basketball Preseason All-ACC Teams First Team Second Team Buddy Boeheim – Syracuse Keve Aluma – Virginia Tech Paolo Banchero – Duke Armando Bacot – North Carolina Isaiah Wong – Miami Michael Devoe – Georgia Tech Kihei Clark – Virginia Prentiss Hubb – Notre Dame Mark Williams – Duke Wendell Moore Jr. – Duke Caleb Love – North Carolina Malik Williams – Louisville

ACC preseason player of the year

Paolo Banchero – Duke (28) Keve Aluma – Virginia Tech (16) Buddy Boeheim – Syracuse (13) Armando Bacot – North Carolina (12) Kihei Clark – Virginia (5) Wendell Moore Jr. – Duke (3) Caleb Love – North Carolina(2) Mark Williams – Duke (2)

ACC Preseason Freshman of the year

Paolo Banchero – Duke (64) Trevor Keels – Duke (5) Terquavion Smith – NC State (3) Dontrez Styles – North Carolina (3) Igor Miličić Jr. – Virginia (3) Wooga Poplar – Miami (1) Benny Williams – Syracuse (1) Cameron Hildreth – Wake Forest (1)

Early season tournaments

Team Tournament Finish Boston College Sunshine Slam 4th (Bracket B) Clemson Charleston Classic 4th Duke Duke Veterans Day Weekend Showcase Champions Florida State Jacksonville Classic Champions Georgia Tech Jerry Colangelo Classic 2nd Louisville Bahamas Championship Champions Miami ESPN Events Invitational 6th North Carolina Hall of Fame Tip Off 4thNC State Hall of Fame Showcase 2ndNotre Dame Maui Invitational 6th Pittsburgh Gotham Classic 2–1 Syracuse Battle 4 Atlantis 6th Virginia Legends Classic Champions Virginia Tech NIT Season Tip-Off 4th Wake Forest Emerald Coast Classic 2nd Source:

Regular season

Rankings + Legend   Increase in ranking   Decrease in ranking   Not ranked previous week     First Place votes shown in ()

  Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 FinalBoston College AP C Clemson AP C Duke AP 9 7 5 1 (51) 3 2 2 2 2 8 6 9 9 7 9 7 4 (11) 7 9C 9 6 1 (19) 3 2 2 2 2 8 5 7 6 6 5 6 2 (9) 7 10 3Florida State AP 20 RV RV RV C 19 RV RV RV RV RV Georgia Tech AP C Louisville AP RV RV C Miami AP RV RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 16тNorth Carolina AP 19 18 RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 RVC 20 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 2NC State AP C Notre Dame AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV Pittsburgh AP C Syracuse AP RV RV C RV Virginia AP 25 RV RV C 25 Virginia Tech AP RV RV RV RV RV RVC RV RV 24 RVWake Forest AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV RV 25 RV RV RV RV RV

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 20 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent. The full conference schedule was announced on September 16, 2021.

  Boston CollegeClemsonDukeFlorida StateGeorgia TechLouisvilleMiamiNorth CarolinaNC StateNotre DamePittsburghSyracuseVirginiaVirginia TechWake Forestvs. Boston College – 68–7070–60 72–61 55–71 81–7682–78 (OT) 67–54 81–70 91–6558–47 61–69 57–7399–95 (OT) 69–6756–69 73–6476–56 67–55 63–68 87–57vs. Clemson 70–6860–70 – 71–6982–64 69–7581–80 69–6465–68 70–61 80–75 79–77 65–70 72–5676–61 48–75 91–78 50–6775–65 59–63 69–80vs. Duke 61–72 69–7164–82 – 79–78 (OT)70–88 57–69 65–74 76–74 67–8794–81 73–88 43–57 56–86 59–7972–92 69–6861–65 65–76 64–7674–76vs. Florida State 71–55 75–6980–81 78–79 (OT)88–70 – 75–61 70–79 64–6560–61 94–74 81–8376–89 70–74 56–51 63–6071–76 63–64 85–72 76–5468–60vs. Georgia Tech 76–8178–82 (OT) 64–6968–65 69–57 61–75 – 67–64 73–6279–70 79–6288–65 76–61 72–68 (OT)90–56 62–68 74–73 (OT) 63–5371–61 81–6662–58 80–64vs. Louisville 54–67 61–70 74–65 79–70 64–67 – 70–63 90–83 (OT)70–63 68–7379–63 82–7063–57 72–7565–53 92–69 64–52 75–43 69–7399–77vs. Miami 70–81 75–80 74–76 65–6461–60 62–7370–79 63–70 – 57–85 83–91 68–64 64–85 87–8872–75 71–5874–71 75–7871–70 84–9272–76vs. North Carolina 65–9147–58 77–79 87–6781–94 74–94 62–7965–88 83–90 (OT)63–70 85–57 – 80–10074–84 78–73 76–67 79–88 (OT) 58–74 68–7857–65 98–76vs. NC State 69–61 70–65 88–73 83–8189–76 61–76 73–6863–79 91–83 100–8084–74 – 73–6569–57 71–69 89–82 63–77 63–6862–59 69–51101–76vs. Notre Dame 73–5795–99 (OT) 56–7261–76 57–43 74–70 68–72 (OT)56–90 70–8257–63 64–68 73–78 65–7357–69 – 67–6854–78 69–79 65–69 79–73 79–74vs. Pittsburgh 67–6969–56 75–48 86–56 51–56 68–62 75–7253–65 85–64 67–76 69–71 68–6778–54 – 77–6153–64 57–5666–61 76–7174–47 91–75vs. Syracuse 64–7356–76 78–91 79–5997–72 60–6376–71 73–74 (OT) 69–92 88–8775–72 88–79 (OT) 82–89 79–69 61–7764–53 – 74–69 71–59 77–74 (OT)72–94vs. Virginia 55–67 67–5065–75 68–6965–61 64–63 53–63 52–6461–71 58–7171–74 74–58 77–63 69–65 56–5761–66 69–74 – 52–5462–53 63–55vs. Virginia Tech 68–63 63–59 76–65 72–85 66–8158–62 43–75 78–7570–71 78–6865–57 68–6359–62 73–79 71–7647–74 59–71 54–5253–62 – 80–61vs. Wake Forest 57–87 80–69 76–6476–74 54–7660–68 64–80 73–6977–99 92–8476–72 76–98 51–6976–101 74–79 75–91 74–77 (OT)94–72 55–63 61–80 –Total 6–14 8–12 16–4 10–10 5–15 6–14 14–6 15–5 4–16 15–5 6–14 9–11 12–8 11–9 13–7

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.

Week Player of the week Rookie of the week Reference Week 1 – Nov 15 Dereon Seabron – NC State Paolo Banchero – Duke Week 2 – Nov 22 Michael Devoe – Georgia Tech AJ Griffin – Duke Week 3 – Nov 29 Wendell Moore Jr. – Duke Paolo Banchero (2) – Duke Week 4 – Dec 6 Dereon Seabron (2) – NC State Terquavion Smith – NC State Week 5 – Dec 13 Alondes Williams – Wake Forest Terquavion Smith (2) – NC State Blake Wesley – Notre Dame Week 6 – Dec 20 Alondes Williams (2) – Wake Forest Trevor Keels – Duke Week 7 – Dec 27 Dane Goodwin – Notre Dame Paolo Banchero (3) – Duke Femi Odukale – Pittsburgh Week 8 – Jan 3 Kameron McGusty – Miami Matthew Cleveland – Florida State Week 9 – Jan 10 Armando Bacot – North Carolina Blake Wesley (2) – Notre Dame Week 10 – Jan 17 Armando Bacot (2) – North Carolina Paolo Banchero (4) – Duke Week 11 – Jan 24 Jake LaRavia – Wake Forest Blake Wesley (3) – Notre Dame Paolo Banchero (5) – Duke Week 12 – Jan 31 Buddy Boeheim – Syracuse Paolo Banchero (6) – Duke Week 13 – Feb 7 Paul Atkinson – Notre Dame AJ Griffin (2) – Duke Week 14 – Feb 14 Jayden Gardner – Virginia Trevor Keels (2) – Duke Week 15 – Feb 21 Jake LaRavia (2) – Wake Forest Terquavion Smith (3) – NC State Week 16 – Feb 28 Armando Bacot (3) – North Carolina Matthew Cleveland (2) – Florida State Week 17 – Mar 7 Brady Manek – North Carolina Terquavion Smith (4) – NC State

Records against other conferences 2021–22 records against non-conference foes through games played on January 20, 2022. Records shown for regular season only.

Power 7 Conferences & GonzagaRecordAmerican3–3Big East2–4Big Ten7–11Big 120–3Pac-122–3SEC7–9Gonzaga1–0Power 7 Total22–33Other NCAA Division I ConferencesRecordAmerican East1–2A-103–8ASUN6–0Big Sky1–0Big South10–0Big West1–0CAA7–1C-USA4–1Horizon League1–1Ivy League8–0MAAC2–1MAC2–1MEAC3–0MVC1–0Mountain West0–0NEC5–0OVC0–0Patriot League11–2Pacific West0–0SoCon5–2Southland2–0SWAC4–0The Summit0–0Sun Belt4–0WAC1–0WCC (not including Gonzaga)1–1Other Division I Total85–20NCAA Division I Total107–53

Postseason

ACC tournament

2022 Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.