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ACC Releases 2017/2018 Basketball Matchups

Next year, Josh Pastner will look to build upon his first season in Atlanta, in which he led the Jackets to a 21-16 record, winning ACC coach of the year.

By Robert Pensa
NCAA Basketball: North Carolina at Georgia Tech Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

While the actual schedule won’t be released until later in the year, on Thursday afternoon the ACC released the matchups for the 2017/2018 season. How did things shake up for the Jackets?

Home/Road: Clemson, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia

As part of their 18 game ACC schedule, the Jackets will face Clemson, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and UVA twice, once at home and once on the road. Clemson, who finished near the bottom of the ACC last season, loses star forward Jaron Blossomgame and is certainly one of the better teams in the conference to see twice. Wake and UVA also lost critical players (Perrantes and Collins), but are still expected to finish in the middle of the conference. The return of Bonzie Colson is huge for Notre Dame, who will compete to be one of the top teams in the conference. The Jackets lucked out in avoiding getting Duke, Louisville, or UNC twice.

Home: Miami, Duke, NC State, Virginia Tech, Syracuse

After setting a school record for home wins last season, McCamish Pavilion should be packed next season. For Tech fans looking to make the trip to midtown Atlanta, the home schedule looks pretty good as Miami, Duke, and Virginia Tech are all expected to be tournament teams and among the best in the conference. While Syracuse is not expected to be one of the top teams in the ACC, they are still one of the top programs in the country, are never an easy out, and seem to bring their fans everywhere they go. Expect a packed house for that one. NC State is a bit of a question mark as they lose the electrifying Dennis Smith Jr and bring in new head coach Kevin Keatts. On paper, the Wolfpack should be an easy home win, but can Keatts spark some year one magic like Pastner was able to do last season?

Road: Florida State, North Carolina, Louisville, Pitt, Boston College

The Jackets road schedule is about as lopsided as you can get, facing possibly the best two teams in the conference (UNC and Louisville) and the worst two teams in the conference (Pitt and Boston College). While UNC and Louisville are brutally tough games, the draw of Pitt and Boston College on the road offers two great opportunities to pick up some crucial and hard to come by ACC road victories. Florida State lost a ton of talent to the draft and offers another tough, but good opportunity to get an ACC road win.

Questions? Comments?