Weekly Release

Upcoming Schedule
Wednesday, November 25
Longwood at Duke | Noon | ACCN
Georgia State at Georgia Tech | Noon | ACCNX
New Hampshire at Boston College | Noon |ACCNX
George Mason at Pitt | Noon | ACCNX
Jacksonville at Miami | 1 p.m. | ACCNX
Radford at North Carolina | 1 p.m. | ACCNX
North Florida at NC State | 2 p.m. | ACCN
Furman at Clemson | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
Louisville at Southeast Missouri State | 3 p.m.
Richmond at Virginia Tech | 4 p.m. | ACCNX
Virginia at UCF | 6 p.m.
 
Friday, November 27
Wake Forest vs. Arkansas | 11:30 a.m.
Notre Dame at Ohio | Noon
Presbyterian at Clemson | 5 p.m. | ACCN
 
Saturday, November 28
Wake Forest vs. Davidson | 11:30 a.m.
UNCG at North Carolina | 1 p.m. | ACCNX
Liberty at Virginia Tech | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
North Florida at Miami | 3 p.m. | ACCNX
 
Four ACC Teams Ranked in Associated Press & USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll
- Four ACC teams are listed among the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 Poll, headlined by ACC preseason favorite Louisville at No. 5, No. 8 NC State, No. 22 Notre Dame and No. 23 Syracuse.
- Additionally, Florida State, North Carolina, Boston College and Duke are receiving votes.
- In the USA Today Poll, four ACC teams are also ranked, highlighted by Louisville at No. 5, No. 6 NC State, No. 21 Syracuse and No. 23 Notre Dame.
 
Three New Head Coaches
- The ACC welcomes three new head coaches to the league in 2020-21 – Duke’s Kara Lawson, Florida State’s Brooke Wyckoff (Interim) and Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey.
- Lawson and Ivey join the conference following coaching stints in the NBA, as the ACC is the only conference with a pair of female head coaches that have been assistant coaches in the NBA.
- Wyckoff takes over as the interim head coach for the Seminoles this season, while Sue Semrau takes a leave of absence to tend to a family matter.
 
Strong Returners
- Seven All-ACC performers return from a season ago, including five first team selections.
- 2019-20 ACC Player of the Year and Preseason Player of the Year Dana Evans of Louisville headlines the group and is joined by North Carolina’s Janelle Bailey, NC State’s Elissa Cunane, Syracuse’s Kiara Lewis and Virginia Tech’s Aisha Sheppard as first team selections returning for this season.
- Boston College’s Taylor Soule and Wake Forest’s Ivana Raca also return following second team All-ACC selections last year. Soule was the league's Most Improved Player.
 
Louisville Selected as the Preseason Favorite for 2020-21
- Louisville is the 2020-21 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball preseason favorite, according to separate polls of the league’s 15 head coaches and the Blue Ribbon Panel.
- The Cardinals received 45 of 57 first-place votes from the Blue Ribbon Panel for a total of 840 points and 13 of 15 first-place votes from the head coaches to finish with 223 points to lead the voting. Louisville was chosen as the preseason favorite for the second consecutive season, after winning the regular-season title in 2019-20 to earn the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
- NC State, the 2020 ACC Tournament Champion, received the remaining two first-place votes in the head coaches’ poll and 10 from the Blue Ribbon Panel to finish second in both with 210 and 797 points, respectively. Syracuse was third in both polls, collecting two first-place votes from the Blue Ribbon Panel.
 
Louisville's Evans Tabbed AP Preseason All-American
- Louisville senior guard Dana Evans was one of just five players nationally to be selected to the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team.
- After earning the league’s Sixth Player of the Year honor two seasons ago, Evans increased her scoring average from 10.4 points per game as a sophomore to 18.0 ppg last season. She became the first player in ACC basketball history (men or women) to receive the conference’s Sixth Player of the Year honor and later earn Player of the Year.
- NC State's Elissa Cunane and Syracuse's Tiana Mangakahia also received consideration for the preseason honor.
 
ACC on Preseason Watch Lists
- Several ACC student-athletes have recently been named to preseason award watch lists. Below is a comprehensive list:
 
Wade Trophy Watch List
Janelle Bailey, Sr., C, North Carolina
Elissa Cunane, Jr., C, NC State
Dana Evans, Sr., G, Louisville
Tiana Mangakahia, Sr., G, Syracuse
 
Citizen Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List
Taylor Soule, Jr., F, Boston College
Elissa Cunane, Jr., C, NC State
Dana Evans, Sr., G, Louisville
Hailey Van Lith, Fr., G, Louisville
Sam Brunelle, So., F, Notre Dame
Kiara Lewis, Sr., G, Syracuse
Tiana Mangakahia, Sr., G, Syracuse
 
Nancy Lieberman Award (Nation's Top Point Guard)
Tiana England, Gr., Florida State
Hailey Van Lith, Fr., Louisville
Raina Perez, Gr., NC State
Tiana Mangakahia, Sr., Syracuse
 
Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Nation's Top Shooting Guard)
Dana Evans, Jr., Louisville
Jakia Brown-Turner, So., NC State
Kiara Lewis, Sr., Syracuse
 
Cheryl Miller Award (Nation's Top Small Forward)
Taylor Soule, Jr., Boston College
Elizabeth Balogun, Jr., Louisville
Ivana Raca, Sr., Wake Forest
 
Katrina McClain Award (Nation's Top Power Forward)
Sam Brunelle, So., Notre Dame
 
Lisa Leslie Award (Nation's Top Center)
Jade Williams, Sr., Duke
Janelle Bailey, Sr., North Carolina
Elissa Cunane, Jr., NC State
Kamilla Cardoso, Fr., Syracuse
Elizabeth Kitley, So., Virginia Tech
 
NC State Wins 2020 ACC Tournament Title
- Aislinn Konig and Elissa Cunane each scored 18 points and second-seeded NC State won its first ACC Tournament championship in 29 years, beating fourth-seeded Florida State, 71-66.
- The Seminoles led 63-58 with 3:45 remaining in the fourth quarter to cap a 10-0 run, before the Wolfpack responded by outscoring FSU 13-3 the remainder of the contest.
- Konig was named the tournament's most valuable player (MVP), after averaging 16.7 points per game in NC State's three wins.
 
ACC & the WNBA
- The ACC led all conferences with eight student-athletes selected in the 2020 WNBA Draft. It marked the second consecutive year that the ACC had more players chosen in the draft than any other conference, following a league-record 13 selections a season ago.
- The ACC has now had at least one first-round selection in each of the past 15 WNBA Drafts, the most of any conference. The next-longest streak by any conference is six.
- In the past five years, the conference has had 35 players selected in the draft - the most of any conference.
- The ACC led all leagues with 32 players on WNBA rosters and 22 players on WNBA Playoff rosters this past season. Both were the most of any conference.
-  Former Notre Dame standout and two-time All-ACC selection Arike Ogunbowale averaged 22.8 points per game to claim the league’s 2020 scoring title.

ACC Committee for Racial and Social Justice
- The ACC’s Committee for Racial and Social Justice (CORE - Champions of Racial Equity) announced three initiatives in conjunction with its member institutions on Sept. 3. 

• Mandatory diversity and inclusion training for student-athletes, athletic department and conference staff
• Creation of ACC Unity Symbol as a visual representation of solidarity among the ACC’s 15 institutions
• ACC Unity Statement to be read prior to every league contest

- Student-athletes, athletic department and conference office staff will be required to attend annual diversity and inclusion training. The initiative was unanimously approved by the conference athletic directors. The focus of this year’s training will be anti-racism.
- The ACC’s unity symbol – “UNITE” – will be displayed in venues and on video boards throughout the league, as well as at ACC Championship events and on social media.
- CORE also has introduced a Unity Statement, which will be read at all ACC events: “We, the ACC, are committed to seeing each other as equals, supporting each other, and treating each other with respect and dignity at all times, recognizing that our differences don't divide us, but they make us stronger.”