Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Enters ACC Tournament as No. 2 Seed
3/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2009
ACC Tournament Bracket in PDF Format 
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest will be the No. 2 seed and receive a first-round bye at the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament March 12-15 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
The Demon Deacons will face the winner of the opening-round game between No. 7 seed Maryland and No. 10 seed NC State. Wake's quarterfinal game will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 13. The contest will be televised by Raycom/ESPN2 and broadcast on the Wake Forest ISP Radio Network.
Wake Forest finished the regular season 24-5 overall and 11-5 in the ACC. The Deacons tied with Duke for second place in the final conference standings. Wake and Duke split their season series, but the Deacs received the No. 2 seed in the tournament based on a better record against top-seeded North Carolina. Wake Forest went 1-0 against UNC, while the Blue Devils were 0-2 against the Tar Heels.
If Wake Forest advances to the semifinals, the Deacons would play on Saturday, March 14, at 4 p.m. The ACC Tournament final is scheduled for Sunday, March 15, at 1 p.m. The tournament champion receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Wake Forest won its only meeting against Maryland this season, picking up a 65-63 win on March 3 in College Park. The Deacons are 3-4 all-time against the Terrapins in ACC Tournament play. The teams last faced each other in the 2004 Tournament in Greensboro with Maryland coming out on top, 87-86. Wake has lost four straight ACC Tournament games to Maryland and has not beaten the Terps since the opening round of the 1963 Tournament in Raleigh.
Wake Forest split its season series against NC State, with each squad winning at home. The Deacons fell at the Wolfpack, 82-76, on Feb. 11 in Raleigh but then defeated NC State, 85-78, on Feb. 26 in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest is 4-8 all-time against NC State in ACC Tournament play. The teams last faced one another at the 2006 Tournament in Greensboro, as the Deacons earned an 82-71 defeat of the Wolfpack.
Wake is receiving a first-round bye for the first time since the 2005 ACC Tournament. That season the Deacons entered the Tournament as the No. 2 seed but were upset in the quarterfinals by No. 7-seeded NC State.
At last season's ACC Tournament in Charlotte, Wake Forest entered as the No. 8 seed but was bounced in the opening round, 70-60, by No. 9 seed Florida State.
The Deacons have won ACC Tournament titles in 1961, 1962, 1995 and 1996. Wake has advanced to the finals on 10 occasions and to the semifinal round 27 times. Wake Forest is 42-51 all-time in ACC Tournament play, including an 0-4 mark in Atlanta.
56th Annual ACC Tournament - Atlanta, Ga. (Georgia Dome)
Thursday, March 12
No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 Miami, Noon (Raycom)
No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech, 2:30 p.m. (Raycom)
No. 7 Maryland vs. No. 10 NC State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 6 Boston College vs. No. 11 Virginia, 9:30 p.m. (Raycom)
Friday, March 13
Game No. 5: No. 1 North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech/Miami winner, Noon (Raycom/ESPN2)
Game No. 6: No. 4 Florida State vs. Clemson/Georgia Tech winner, 2:30 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN2)
Game No. 7: No. 2 Wake Forest vs. Maryland/NC State winner, 7:00 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN2)
Game No. 8: No. 3 Duke vs. Boston College/Virginia winner, 9:30 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN2)
Saturday, March 14
Game No. 9: ACC Semifinals, 1:30 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN)
Game No. 10 - ACC Semifinals, 4:00 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN)
Sunday, March 15
Game No. 11 - Championship Game, 1:00 p.m. (Raycom/ESPN)
