Any team that wins a conference tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament must navigate an arduous path.
The 1984 North Carolina women, 1986 Maryland women and 2024 North Carolina State all made history as ultimate underdogs in the ACC Tournament.
What Is the Lowest Seed to Win the ACC Men's Tournament?
NC State lost its last four games in the ACC regular season and entered the conference tournament as the No. 10 seed. The Wolfpack went on to make history, becoming the first team seeded eighth or lower to win the ACC tourney.
The previous lowest-seeded team to win the ACC Tournament was No. 7 Virginia Tech in 2022. The Hokies became only the second ACC team to win four games in four nights to earn the conference's automatic NCAA tourney berth. They capped their miracle run with an 82-67 victory over Duke in Mike Krzyzewski's final ACC tourney.
How NC State Pulled Off Its ACC Tournament Run
In men's college basketball history, only two schools have won five games in five days to win their conference tournament. The first was the 2011 UConn Huskies, who were led by Kemba Walker to capture the Big East tournament title. The second was NC State at the 2024 ACC Tournament.
A pair of DJs had the 10th-seeded Wolfpack playing a much different tune at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. The team's leading scorers — DJ Horne and D.J. Burns Jr. — took turns leading NC State in its victories over Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia and North Carolina to capture its first conference crown since 1987.
Horne, a 6'1" senior guard, averaged 14.8 points, while Burns, a 6'9", 260-pound senior center, averaged 15.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists to earn tournament MVP honors.
Biggest Upsets During NC State's Championship Run
After a 94-85 win against No. 16 Louisville and an 83-65 blowout of No. 7 Syracuse, the Wolfpack faced mighty Duke, the 11th-ranked team in the country.
Horne scored a team-high 18 points off the bench, including two clutch free throws with 15 seconds left, to complete a 74-69 upset of the Blue Devils. Burns' defense helped slow down Duke in the second half. NC State coach Kevin Keatts marveled at his team's stamina.
“We talk about our conditioning and how it pays off for us,” Keatts said. “When you look at those three games that we played, honestly, we’ve looked like the more fresh team than anybody.”
The Wolfpack outlasted third-seeded Virginia 73-65 in overtime to reach the championship game, where they faced another traditional power in No. 1 seed North Carolina. Horne scored a team-high 29 points and Burns totaled 20 points, four rebounds and seven assists as NC State won 84-76 against the rival Tar Heels, the nation's fourth-ranked team.
“Just a week ago, it was looking like our season was about to be over, and here we are now, man, on top of the world," Horne said.
"We knew we were capable of it,” Burns said. “It just doesn’t feel real. It may eventually."
What Is the Lowest Seed to Win the ACC Women's Tournament?
The lowest seed to win the ACC Women's Tournament is the No. 5 seed. The history-making moment has been achieved twice — first by North Carolina in 1984, and then in 1986 by Maryland.
How 1984 North Carolina Pulled Off Its ACC Tournament Run
The Tar Heels finished the ACC regular season at 9-5, the same record as NC State and Clemson, but tiebreakers placed UNC as the No. 5 seed in the eight-team conference tournament.
North Carolina defeated Clemson and Virginia to reach the championship game, where it beat third-seeded NC State 99-76 at the Civic Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Tresa Brown, the All-American center who led the Tar Heels in scoring at 20.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, was named tournament MVP.
The Tar Heels entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the East Region. They edged St. John's 81-79 in the first round and lost 73-72 to Cheyney in the second round to finish with a 24-8 record.
How 1986 Maryland Pulled Off Its ACC Tournament Run
The Terrapins finished fifth in the ACC with a regular-season record of 6-8, but they won the conference tourney to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Maryland began with a 77-55 rout of NC State and then stunned top-seeded Virginia in a 92-68 blowout. In the ACC title game, the Terps rolled to a 92-74 win over second-seeded North Carolina to claim the school's fifth ACC tourney crown in 10 years.
Guard Deanna Tate, Maryland's leading scorer during the season at 16.7 points per game, was named the tournament MVP. In the NCAA tourney, the sixth-seeded Terrapins lasted only one game, losing to third-seeded Ohio State 87-71 in the Mideast Region.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lowest Seeds to Ever Win the ACC Tournament, Men's and Women's.
