ACC women’s hoops tournament starts Wednesday; NC State begins title defense Thursday

Welcome to March, everybody! It’s about time to get the madness underway. (Though it’s already well underway for some early-bird conferences.) The ACC women’s basketball tournament runs from today through the championship game on Sunday in Greensboro.

NC State will be defending its crown for the third straight time, which gets no less fun to think about every time I do. Bit more work to be done this time around, though.

The Wolfpack is the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 Syracuse tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET. That game, like every tournament game leading up to the championship, will air on the ACC Network.

NC State won at Syracuse earlier this season, and should the Pack advance past the Orange, top-seeded Notre Dame will be waiting on Friday. A semifinal game would likely come against No. 4 Louisville or No. 5 Florida State.

That’s a tough road, and one I’m assuming State will have to manage without Diamond Johnson, who hasn’t played since Feb. 16. Wes Moore may want to let her lingering ankle injury continue to heal until the NCAAs.

NC State will have to find an extra gear over the next few days regardless if it’s going to surprise its way to a fourth consecutive ACC title.