It's every ACC fan's favorite stretch of the season-11 games packed into four adventurous and emotional days.
The ACC Tournament has garnered a reputation as one of the most exciting in college basketball-but it has never been known for its unpredictability.
Duke and North Carolina have dominated the ACC Tournament over the last decade, winning nine of the last 10 titles. Even though the Tar Heels are the top seed heading into 2007's Tournament, the field is decidedly more open than usual.
"If it is a reflection of the regular season competitively, it has the potential to be one of the best ever," ACC Commissioner John Swofford said. "I don't know if we've ever been any deeper as a league as we are this year. One of the great things about it going in is there are a number of teams that genuinely feel, and rightfully so, that they have a chance to win it."
North Carolina earned the top seed by beating Duke 86-72 Sunday, dropping the Blue Devils to the seventh seed. Duke will play a Thursday game in the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1995-when head coach Mike Krzyzewski was sidelined with a back injury and the Blue Devils struggled to a last-place finish in the conference.
Virginia, Virginia Tech and Boston College join UNC with byes into Friday's quarterfinals. The Cavaliers shared the regular season title with the Tar Heels, while the Hokies, Eagles and hard-charging Maryland all finished a game behind at 10-6. No team has ever won four games in four days to win the ACC Tournament.
"Obviously, the four teams that have byes have a tremendous advantage in that if they win those first couple, on Sunday they're going to be a fresher team if they're playing a team that had to win three games to that point," Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell said. "But all you have to do is look at the last two to three weeks of the season, and it's obvious those same teams played each other and beat up on each other."
Perhaps the two most dangerous teams in the field are Maryland and Georgia Tech, seeded fifth and sixth, respectively. The Terrapins have won seven straight since a 3-6 start to the conference season, while the Yellow Jackets have won seven of nine, including victories over North Carolina and Boston College in the last week.
Maryland, however, has to get by No. 12 Miami, which beat the Terrapins in College Park earlier in the season. The Yellow Jackets have to get by Wake Forest-the Demon Deacons beat Virginia Saturday-before a potential meeting with Virginia Tech.
"I think it's open this year," Maryland head coach Gary Williams said. "Whether it's more open than other years-if you look at the records going in, you'd say yes with all the teams so evenly packed. But we'll have to see."
The most significant first-round matchup pits No. 8 Florida State against No. 9 Clemson-a contest many experts view as an elimination game for an at-large bid. Clemson has lost nine of 13 since its 17-0 start, while the Seminoles recovered from a five-game losing streak to win their final two games. The Tigers swept Florida State during the regular season, but the Seminoles have received a boost with the return of point guard Toney Douglas to the lineup.
"We're going there with the idea that anybody can get hot and come out of this Tournament successful," Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "I think most teams are going to go into it with that in mind."
Heading into Thursday, however, one thing is clear.
"It's tournament time," Miami head coach Frank Haith said. "And anything can happen."
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