NUMBERS GAME

NORTH CAROLINA

One of the hottest teams in the country, North Carolina enters the ACC Tournament winners of seven straight games, including one over Duke on Saturday that assured them the conference's top seed. With the dynamic frontcourt duo of Tyler Zeller and John Henson, the Tar Heels lead the nation with 42.7 rebounds per game. Coupled with the improved play of talented freshmen Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall, North Carolina is poised to make a deep tournament run. It would be a surprise not to see them in the finals Sunday.

DUKE

The defending national champions will arrive in Greensboro still stinging from their season-ending loss to rival North Carolina. The loss gave the Tar Heels the outright regular-season ACC crown and left Duke as the No. 2 seed — not as if it really matters. The Blue Devils still have two of the nation's best players in Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, and a deep run in the ACC Tournament is an annual expectation for the defending league champions. There's obvious incentive in play: An ACC crown could help Duke earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

FLORIDA STATE

Florida State heads to the ACC Tournament with a lot of questions, but none is bigger than the continued absence of star forward Chris Singleton, who has missed the team's past five games due to a foot injury suffered Feb. 12. The Seminoles have played reasonably well since the injury, compiling a 3-2 record that included a close two-point loss to North Carolina, but how they overcome Singleton's absence in Greensboro will decide how far they advance in the tournament. Don't let their earlier loss to the Terps fool you — this is a quality team with real potential.

CLEMSON

Clemson went on an eight-game winning streak in late December and early January but hasn't won more than two in a row since. The Tigers have already defeated Boston College, the team they will most likely face in the second round of the tournament, but guard Demontez Stitt is the closest thing they have to a dominant player. Even if they beat the Eagles again, it's hard to see them advancing after that with a likely matchup against North Carolina looming. It will be interesting to see how Clemson responds to its spot on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

BOSTON COLLEGE

Boston College, which enters the ACC Tournament on a three-game winning streak, has had a surprisingly good season that's put the Eagles in contention for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. With a first-round matchup against No. 12 seed Wake Forest — which they blew out in their regular-season finale — it would be a shocker not to see them advance to the second round to face Clemson in what should be a very entertaining, high-stakes game. Guard Reggie Jackson averages more than 18 points per game and has the ability to take over offensively.

VIRGINIA TECH

Before the season, many pegged the Hokies as the second-best team in the ACC. They returned a glut of starters from last season, and with All-ACC guard Malcolm Delaney, the Hokies appeared capable of competing for an ACC crown. However, after an inconsistent regular season that ended with consecutive losses to Boston College and Clemson, the Hokies find themselves right on the NCAA Tournament bubble. They'll need to beat Georgia Tech in the first round and probably Florida State in the quarterfinals to feel comfortable on Selection Sunday.

TERRAPINS

Had the Terps beaten Miami and Virginia in their final two games of the regular season, a solid run in the ACC Tournament could have punched their ticket to March Madness. Instead, they enter Greensboro with no momentum at all and a need to win the whole tournament. The Terps have been enigmatic all year, coming tantalizing close again and again to securing a true highlight victory. They have a penchant for coming out flat in games they should win, so although they could easily beat NC State in the first round, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them bow out early today.

VIRGINIA

After an up-and-down regular season, the eighth-seeded Cavaliers face a task similar to the Terps' own in Greensboro if they have NCAA Tournament hopes: win it all. Virginia had some quality wins over the course of the year — including two against in-state rival Virginia Tech — but tough losses to Wichita State and Wake Forest, among others, crippled the Cavaliers' chances at an at-large bid. Their ACC Tournament slate starts today with Miami, and a win would set them up for a tough matchup with top-seeded North Carolina.

MIAMI

Though they struggled throughout their conference schedule, the Hurricanes will bring a balanced team to Greensboro. The Hurricanes are ranked No. 21 in the country and first in the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage, thanks to a backcourt manned by Malcolm Grant and Durand Scott. With both senior forward Adrian Thomas and 6-foot-10, 303-pound center Reggie Johnson averaging nearly a double-double, Miami has enough talent to surprise this week.

NC STATE

The Wolfpack got a tough draw in the ACC Tournament with a first-round contest against the Terps. And while the Terps have had their struggles this season, they topped NC State, 87-80, on Feb. 20 in what was their eighth straight win over the Wolfpack. NC State does have talented scorers in forwards Tracy Smith and C.J. Leslie, but those two may not be enough to propel them far in the tournament.

GEORGIA TECH

In Virginia Tech, the Yellow Jackets will face a first-round opponent bent on proving it deserves to be in the Big Dance after missing it last year and struggling down the stretch this season. But the Hokies need not worry — the Yellow Jackets won't be doing much of anything this ACC Tournament. The Hokies blew them out by nearly 30 points when they met Feb. 13. Expect an early exit for Georgia Tech.