2015–16 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season

The 2015–16 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2015, followed by the start of the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in late December 2015 and will conclude in March with the 2016 ACC men's basketball tournament at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

2015–16 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Number of teams	15
TV partner(s)	ACCN, ESPN, Raycom Sports, Regional Sports Networks, CBS
Regular season
First place	North Carolina Tar Heels
Season MVP	Malcolm Brogdon
ACC tournament
Champions	North Carolina Tar Heels
Finals MVP	Joel Berry II
Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball seasons
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 North Carolina †	14	–	4		.778			33	–	7		.825
No. 4 Virginia	13	–	5		.722			29	–	8		.784
No. 10 Miami (FL)	13	–	5		.722			27	–	8		.771
No. 16 Louisville*	12	–	6		.667			23	–	8		.742
Notre Dame	11	–	7		.611			24	–	12		.667
No. 19 Duke	11	–	7		.611			25	–	11		.694
Virginia Tech	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
Clemson	10	–	8		.556			17	–	14		.548
Pittsburgh	9	–	9		.500			21	–	12		.636
Syracuse	9	–	9		.500			23	–	14		.622
Georgia Tech	8	–	10		.444			21	–	15		.583
Florida State	8	–	10		.444			20	–	14		.588
NC State	5	–	13		.278			16	–	17		.485
Wake Forest	2	–	16		.111			11	–	20		.355
Boston College	0	–	18		.000			7	–	25		.219
*Ineligible for both the 2016 ACC tournament and the 2016 NCAA tournament due to self-imposed postseason ban.
† 2016 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Preseason

ACC recruits at the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

 

Dwayne Bacon, FSU

 

Luke Kennard, Duke

 

Brandon Ingram, Duke

 

Chase Jeter, Duke

 

Malachi Richardson, Syr

Rankings

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week

Main article: 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Final
Boston College	AP
	C
Clemson	AP											RV	RV
	C											RV	RV	RV	RV
Duke	AP	5	5	6	7	8	7	15	15	14	9	20	24	RV	RV	20	15	17	19	19
	C	4	4	3	5	5	6	10	12	10	6	12	20	RV	RV	19	18	21	21	20	18
Florida State	AP	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV
Georgia Tech	AP
	C
Louisville	AP	RV	RV	RV	24	22	19	16	18	16	21	17	16	19	13	18	11	11	14	16
	C	RV	RV	RV	22	19	16	15	18	16	20	16	14	18	RV
Miami	AP	RV	RV	15	21	17	15	13	13	12	8	15	15	17	12	11	12	7	11	11
	C	RV	RV	19	21	20	19	16	15	11	9	14	13	15	11	10	11	7	11	11	8
North Carolina	AP	1	1	9	9	3	11	7	7	6	5	2	2	2	9	5	7	8	7	3
	C	2	1	8	9	3	11	7	8	7	5	2	1	1	8	4	6	8	7	3	2
NC State	AP	RV
	C	RV	RV
Notre Dame	AP	19	18	17	RV	RV	RV					RV	25	RV	RV	19	23	RV
	C	18	18	18	RV		RV	RV	RV				RV	RV	RV	18	20	RV			17
Pittsburgh	AP				RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	20	RV	RV	RV
	C				RV	RV	RV	RV	25	21	17	20	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Syracuse	AP				14	RV	RV									RV
	C				19	RV	RV									RV					10
Virginia	AP	6	6	12	10	10	8	5	5	4	13	13	11	9	7	7	3	4	4	4
	C	6	6	12	10	10	9	5	5	4	11	13	12	9	7	8	3	4	4	5	5
Virginia Tech	AP
	C
Wake Forest	AP
	C

Regular season

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 18 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent.

	Boston College	Clemson	Duke	Florida State	Georgia Tech	Louisville	Miami	North Carolina	NC State	Notre Dame	Pittsburgh	Syracuse	Virginia	Virginia Tech	Wake Forest
vs. Boston College	–	2–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	2-0	1-0	1–0	1–0
vs. Clemson	0–2	–	0-1	1–1	1–1	0–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	2-0	1–0	0–1
vs. Duke	0–1	1-0	–	0–1	0–1	1–1	1–0	1–1	0–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	0-1	0–1	0–2
vs. Florida State	0–1	1–1	1–0	–	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	0-2	0–1	1–0	1–1	0-1	1–0	0–1
vs. Georgia Tech	0–1	1–1	1–0	0–1	–	2–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	1-1	1–1	1–0	0-1	1–0	0–1
vs. Louisville	0–1	1–0	1–1	0–1	0–2	–	1–0	0–1	0–1	1–0	0–2	0–1	2-0	0–1	0–1
vs. Miami	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–2	0–1	0–1	–	1–0	1–0	0–2	0–1	0–1	1-1	1–1	0–1
vs. North Carolina	0–2	0–1	1–1	0–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	–	0-2	1–0	0–1	0–2	1-0	0–1	0–1
vs. NC State	0–1	0–1	2–0	2-0	1–0	1–0	0–1	2–0	–	1–0	0–1	1–0	1-0	1–0	1–1
vs. Notre Dame	0–2	0–1	0–1	1–0	1-1	0–1	2–0	0–1	0–1	–	1–0	1–0	1-0	0–1	0–2
vs. Pittsburgh	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	1–1	2–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	–	0–2	1-0	1–1	0–1
vs. Syracuse	0-2	1–0	0–1	1–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	0–1	0–1	2–0	–	1-0	0–1	0–1
vs. Virginia	0–1	0–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–2	1–1	0–1	0–1	0–1	0–1	0–1	–	1–1	0–1
vs. Virginia Tech	0–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	1-1	–	0-2
vs. Wake Forest	0-1	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	1-1	2–0	1–0	1–0	1-0	2-0	–
Total	0-18	10-8	11-7	8-10	8-10	12-6	13-5	14-4	5-13	11-7	9-9	9-9	13-5	10-8	2-16

Postseason

ACC tournament

Main article: 2016 ACC men's basketball tournament

• March 8–12, 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

	First round Tuesday, March 8 ESPN2/ACCN					Second round Wednesday, March 9 ESPN/ACCN					Quarterfinals Thursday, March 10 ESPN/ACCN					Semifinals Friday, March 11 ESPN/ACCN					Championship Saturday, March 12 ESPN/ACCN
											1	North Carolina	88
						8	Pittsburgh	72			8	Pittsburgh	71
						9	Syracuse	71								1	North Carolina	78
																4	Notre Dame	47
											4	Notre Dame	84*
						5	Duke	92			5	Duke	79
	12	NC State	75			12	NC State	89													1	North Carolina	61
	13	Wake Forest	72																		2	Virginia	57
											2	Virginia	72
						7	Clemson	85			10	Georgia Tech	52
						10	Georgia Tech	88*								2	Virginia	73
																3	Miami	68
											3	Miami	88
						6	Virginia Tech	96			6	Virginia Tech	82
	11	Florida State	88			11	Florida State	85
	14	Boston College	66

* Denotes Overtime Game

AP Rankings at time of tournament

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

Seed	Region	School	First Four	2nd round	3rd round	Sweet 16	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship
1	East	North Carolina		W, 83-67 vs. #16 Florida Gulf Coast – (Raleigh)	W, 85-66 vs. #9 Providence – ([Raleigh)	W, 101-86 vs. #5 Indiana – (Philadelphia)	W, 88-74 vs. #6 Notre Dame – (Philadelphia)	W, 83-66 vs. #10 Syracuse – (Houston)	L, 74-77 vs. #10 Villanova – (Houston)
1	Midwest	Virginia		W, 81-45 vs. #16 Hampton – (Raleigh)	W, 77-69 vs. #9 Butler – (Raleigh)	W, 84-71 vs. #4 Iowa State – (Chicago)	L, 62-68 vs. #10 Syracuse – (Chicago)
3	South	Miami		W, 79-72 vs. #14 Buffalo – (Providence)	W, 65-57 vs. #11 Wichita State – (Providence)	L, 69-92 vs. #2 Villanova – (Louisville)
4	West	Duke		W, 93-85 vs. #13 UNC Wilmington – (Providence)	W, 71-64 vs. #12 Yale – (Providence)	L, 68-82 vs. #1 Oregon – (Anaheim)
6	East	Notre Dame		W, 70-63 vs. #11 Michigan – (Brooklyn)	W, 76-75 vs. #14 Stephen F. Austin – (Brooklyn)	W, 61-56 vs. #7 Wisconsin – (Philadelphia)	L, 74-88 vs. #1 North Carolina – (Philadelphia)
10	East	Pittsburgh		L, 43-47 vs. #7 Wisconsin – (St. Louis)
10	Midwest	Syracuse		W, 70-51 vs. #7 Dayton – (St. Louis)	W, 75-50 vs. #15 Middle Tennessee – (St. Louis)	W, 63-60 vs. #11 Gonzaga – (Chicago)	W, 68-62 vs. #1 Virginia – (Chicago)	L, 66-83 vs. #1 North Carolina – (Houston)

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 2016 National Invitation Tournament

Seed	Bracket	School	1st round	2nd round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Championship
3	St. Bonaventure	Virginia Tech	W, 86-81 OT vs. #6 Princeton – (Blacksburg)	L, 77–80 vs. #2 BYU – (Provo)
4	Valparaiso	Florida State	W, 84-74 vs. #5 Davidson – (Tallahassee)	L, 69-81 vs. #1 Valparaiso – (Valparaiso)
4	South Carolina	Georgia Tech	W, 82-64 vs. #5 Houston – (Atlanta)	W, 83–66 vs. #1 South Carolina – (Columbia)	L, 72–56 vs. #2 San Diego State – (San Diego)

Honors and awards

2016 ACC Men's Basketball Individual Awards^[1]
Award	Recipient(s)
Player of the Year	Malcolm Brogdon, G., VIRGINIA
Coach of the Year	Jim Larranaga, MIAMI
Defensive Player of the Year	Malcolm Brogdon, G., VIRGINIA
Rookie of the Year	Brandon Ingram, F., DUKE
Most Improved Player of the Year	Jaron Blossomgame, F., CLEMSON
Sixth Man of the Year	Isaiah Hicks, F., NORTH CAROLINA

2016 ACC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams^[1]
First Team	Second Team	Third Team
†Brice Johnson, Sr., F., NORTH CAROLINA †Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., G., VIRGINIA Anthony Barber, Jr., G., N.C. STATE Grayson Allen, So., G., DUKE Jaron Blossomgame, Jr., F., CLEMSON	Michael Gbinije, Sr., F., SYRACUSE Sheldon McClellan, Sr., F., MIAMI Demetrius Jackson, Jr., G., NOTRE DAME Damion Lee, Sr., G., LOUISVILLE Brandon Ingram, Fr., F., DUKE	Marcus Georges-Hunt, Sr., G., GEORGIA TECH Anthony Gill, Sr., F., VIRGINIA Zach Auguste, Sr., F., NOTRE DAME Michael Young, Jr., F., PITTSBURGH Angel Rodríguez, Sr., G., MIAMI
† - denotes unanimous selection

NBA Draft

The ACC had 9 players drafted in the 2016 NBA draft. 4 players were drafted in the first round, and 5 players were drafted in the second round.

PG

Point guard

SG

Shooting guard

SF

Small forward

PF

Power forward

C

Center

Player	Team	Round	Pick #	Position	School
Brandon Ingram	Los Angeles Lakers	1st	2	SF	Duke
Malik Beasley	Denver Nuggets	1st	19	SG	Florida State
Malachi Richardson	Charlotte Hornets	1st	22	SG	Syracuse
Brice Johnson	Los Angeles Clippers	1st	25	PF	North Carolina
Malcolm Brogdon	Milwaukee Bucks	2nd	36	PG/SG	Virginia
Chinanu Onuaku	Houston Rockets	2nd	37	PF/C	Louisville
Demetrius Jackson	Boston Celtics	2nd	45	PG	Notre Dame
Michael Gbinije	Detroit Pistons	2nd	49	SF	Syracuse
Marcus Paige	Brooklyn Nets	2nd	55	PG	North Carolina

References

1. Press Release (2016-03-06). . theacc.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-06.