The ACC saw some fireworks over the weekend, as the conference's two top-ranked basketball squads stumbled in their regular-season finales.
First, 2025/26 ACC regular-season champions No. 12 Duke fell to rival No. 21 North Carolina 74-69 on Sunday, after two Blue Devil starters — forwards Toby Fournier and Delaney Thomas — fouled out of the game.
The No. 10 Louisville Cardinals also struggled in a 65-62 loss to unranked Notre Dame, with star guard Hannah Hidalgo dominating with 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals to help continue the Fighting Irish's late-season surge.
With only three ACC teams in the AP Top 25 Poll, Sunday's results indicate a wide-open field heading into this week's conference tournament.
Clemson and Virginia both earned ranked wins just over one week ago, while Notre Dame now enters the postseason on a five-game winning streak.
"We are a team that, no matter what, we're going to get to work the next day," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey told reporters. "The sense of urgency went to an all-time high in February."
How to watch the 2026 ACC women's basketball tournament
While the conference's top seeds — No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 UNC, and No. 4 NC State — earned byes into Friday's quarterfinal round, the 2026 ACC tournament will tip off with teams fighting to extend their seasons at 11 AM ET on Wednesday, airing live on the ACC Network.
