Duke was chosen as the preseason favorite to win the 2021-22 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, as selected by media members at the 2021 ACC Tipoff event. The Blue Devils earned the distinction for the seventh time in the last nine seasons and were followed in the poll by Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Louisville, Syracuse, Notre Dame, NC State and reigning ACC champion Georgia Tech were voted sixth through 10th, respectively. Clemson, Miami, Wake Forest, Pitt and Boston College rounded out the poll.

ACC Men’s Basketball Tipoff - 2021 Preseason Poll
School, Points

1. Duke (47), 1,132
2. Florida State (14), 1,034
3. North Carolina (5), 1,001
4. Virginia (9), 949
5. Virginia Tech (5), 857
6. Louisville (1), 791
7. Syracuse, 781
8. Notre Dame, 599
9. NC State, 555
10. Georgia Tech, 524
11. Clemson, 430
12. Miami, 428
13. Wake Forest, 274
14. Pitt, 253
15. Boston College, 112
First-place votes in parentheses; 81 total voters

Duke freshman power forward Paolo Banchero earned Preseason ACC Player and Freshman of the Year honors. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound native of Seattle, Washington, was a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 3 overall player in WER rankings for the class of 2021. Banchero averaged 22.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 blocks per game his junior season at O'Dea High School.

Banchero finished with 28 votes for Preseason ACC Player of the Year – 12 more than Virginia Tech’s Keve Aluma. Banchero also earned 64 of the 81 votes for Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year.