Weekly Report

Upcoming Schedule
Monday, November 6
Richmond at Duke | 11 a.m. | ACCNX
Coastal Carolina at Georgia Tech | 11 a.m. | ACCNX
Winthrop at Clemson | 11 a.m. | ACCNX
#10 Notre Dame vs. #6 South Carolina (Paris, France) | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Wofford at Wake Forest | 5 p.m. | ACCNX
High Point at #8 Virginia Tech | 5 p.m. | ACCN
Holy Cross at Boston College | 5 p.m. | ACCNX
Charleston Southern at #18 Florida State | 6 p.m. | ACCNX
#17 Louisville at Cincinnati | 6 p.m. | ESPN+

Tuesday, November 7
Charlotte at NC State | 7 p.m. | ACCN
Lafayette at Syracuse | 7 p.m. | ACCNX
Yale at Pitt | 7 p.m. | ACCNX

Wednesday, November 8
Gardner-Webb at #16 North Carolina | 7 p.m. | ACCNX
UMES at Virginia | 7 p.m. | ACCNX

Thursday, November 9
Jacksonville at Miami | 11 a.m. | ACCNX
#11 Tennessee at #18 Florida State | 6 p.m. | ESPN2
Harvard at Boston College | 6 p.m. | ACCN
Coastal Carolina at Duke | 7 p.m. | ACCNX
#8 Virginia Tech vs. #3 Iowa (Charlotte, N.C.) | 8 p.m. | ESPN2

Friday, November 10
Central Connecticut State at Syracuse | 7 p.m. | ACCNX
Charleston Southern at Clemson | 7 p.m. | ACCNX

Saturday, November 11
Wake Forest at Davidson | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
West Virginia at Pitt | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
Furman at Georgia Tech | 2 p.m. | ACCNX

Sunday, November 12
Mercer at Clemson | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
Northeastern at Boston College | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
Fordham at Miami | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
#10 Notre Dame at NJIT | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Campbell at Virginia | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
#2 UConn at NC State | 3 p.m. | ABC
DePaul at #17 Louisville | 4 p.m. | ACCN
Davidson at #16 North Carolina | 6 p.m. | ACCN

Rankings according to most recent Associated Press Poll

Seven Teams Ranked in National Polls
• Seven teams are currently ranked among the Preseason AP and USA Today Coaches Polls, headlined by a nation-best seven teams in the Preseason USA Today Poll.
• Virginia Tech headlines both polls, as the Hokies begin the season No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the USA Today Poll. Both preseason rankings are the best starts in program history.
• In the AP Preseason Poll, Notre Dame follows the Hokies at No. 10, while North Carolina is No. 16, Louisville is No. 17 and Florida State is No. 18. In the USA Today Coaches Poll, after VT is Notre Dame at No. 10, Louisville at No. 15, North Carolina at No. 17, Duke at No. 19, Florida State at No. 22 and Miami ties for No. 25. NC State is currently receiving votes in both polls.

Virginia Tech Voted Preseason Favorite
• Virginia Tech was selected as the preseason favorite by the league's Blue Ribbon Panel and head coaches in the annual Predicted Order of Finish. The Hokies received 45 first-place votes of the 61 ballots cast. Notre Dame was projected second with 14 first-place votes, while North Carolina and Louisville also garnered a first-place votes with the Tar Heels in third and the Cardinals in fourth.

Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley Named ACC Preseason Player of the Year
• Following a vote of the league's Blue Ribbon Panel and head coaches, Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley was named the 2023-24 ACC Preseason Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. She's the first back-to-back ACC Preseason Player of the Year award winner since Maryland's Alyssa Thomas in 2012 and 2013.
• Kitley is joined on the Preseason All-ACC Team with teammate Georgia Amoore, who earned two first-place votes. The rest of the Preseason All-ACC team is comprised of Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson and Makayla Timpson, Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron, North Carolina’s Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby and Syracuse’s Dyaisha Fair. Latson earned four first-place votes, while Miles earned three, and Kelly, Citron and Fair each earned one first-place vote. Notre Dame’s Maddy Westbeld and Clemson’s Amari Robinson each earned a first-place vote but did not earn a spot on the preseason team.
• Kitley was also the lone representative from the ACC to be named to the six-player Preseason AP All-America list. Just missing a spot on the team, Amoore and Miles received votes.

NCAA Tournament Success
• ACC member institutions have won three NCAA Championships and made 23 trips to the Final Four. With Virginia Tech's appearance last season, nine different institutions have represented the ACC in the Women’s Final Four.
• ACC teams have made five trips to the Final Four in the last five NCAA Tournaments.
• The ACC has had at least one No. 1 seed in each of past eight tournaments and 23 times overall. The ACC has had multiple No. 1 seeds in seven tournaments (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2018, 2019, 2022).
• At least one ACC team has advanced to the Elite 8 in each the past 21 NCAA Tournaments with Virginia Tech, Miami and Louisville earning a spot a season ago. It is the longest streak of any conference, and the next closest is 13.
• The ACC also owns the most NCAA Tournament wins (119) of any conference since 2014. The next closest conference has 107.
• The ACC has placed eight teams in the NCAA Tournament in the last five season. The 40 teams in the span is the most among all conferences.

Talented Newcomers
• Five players were named to the Newcomer Watch List, with the Louisville duo Kiki Jefferson and Jayda Curry, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hildalgo, North Carolina’s Lexi Donarski and Duke’s Jadyn Donovan. Hildalgo and Donovan were both 5-star recruits and two of the top-5 rated freshmen, according to the 2023 HoopGurlz rankings.

Preseason Awards & Watch Lists
• Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List (Top PG): Deja Kelly (North Carolina), Olivia Miles (Notre Dame), Dyaisha Fair (Syracuse), Georgia Amoore (Virginia Tech)
• Cheryl Miller Award Watch List (Top SF): Kiki Jefferson (Louisville), Alyssa Ustby (North Carolina)
• Anne Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List (Top SG): Ta'Niya Latson (Florida State), Sonia Citron (Notre Dame)
• Katrina McClain Award Watch List (Top PF): Olivia Cochran (Louisville), Mimi Collins (NC State), Maddy Westbeld (Notre Dame), Sam Brunelle (Virginia)
• Lisa Leslie Award Watch List (Top C): Kennedy Brown (Duke), Maria Gakdeng (North Carolina), Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech)
• AP Preseason All-America: Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech)
• Wade Trophy Watch List: Georgia Amoore (Virginia Tech), Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech), Ta'Niya Latson (Florida State), Olivia Miles (Notre Dame)

Success in 2022-23
• The ACC placed four teams in the Sweet 16 for the second straight season and three teams in the Elite 8 last season, which tied for the most among all conferences in each round. The three Elite 8 teams were the most from the ACC since sending four teams in 2014.
• In the final edition of last season's NCAA NET rankings, three ACC teams finished in the top 10, as Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Duke are No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. NC State and Louisville finished in the top 20 at No. 17 and No. 20, respectively, while North Carolina was No. 21 and Florida State was No. 24. The seven teams in the Top 25 were the most among all conferences.
•  In 2022-23, the ACC finished 158-42 (.790) against nonconference opponents headlined by a nation-best 31 victories against Power-5 opponents. The league opened the year with 22 straight non-league wins.
• During the regular season, the ACC recorded 139 nonconference wins and a .818 winning percentage, the second-highest mark in the nation (PAC-12, .852).

New Challenge
• The 2023-24 season will be the first year for the ACC/SEC Challenge, a multi-night event that matches men's and women's basketball teams from two of the top conferences. The ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge is slated for Nov. 29 and 30. Both men’s and women’s Challenge events will feature games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network and SEC Network.
• The ACC closes the book on the ACC/Big Ten Challenge that began in 2007. The ACC finished 11-1-3 all-time in the annual event, headlined by winning eight of the Challenge's 14 games a season ago.

Ally ACC Women's Basketball Championship in Review
• For the first time in program history, third-seeded Virginia Tech won the Ally ACC Women's Basketball Tournament and sealed the automatic bid into the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
• Virginia Tech knocked off fourth-seeded Louisville in the title game, 75-67. The win marked the first time since 2012 a No. 3 seed won the ACC Tournament.
• Virginia Tech guard Georgia Amoore was named MVP of the Ally ACC Women's Basketball Tournament after she averaged 21.7 points per game and set the tournament record for 3-pointers for a tournament with 14. The guard posted a team-high 25 points in the title game, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
• Joining Amoore on the All-Tournament team was teammate Elizabeth Kitley who posted 20 points in Sunday's final. The senior averaged 16.7 points and a team-best 8.7 rebounds in her three games of the Tournament.
• For the 24th time in the last 25 years, the 2024 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament will be held March 6-10 at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

New Faces
• Former Furman Women's Basketball Head Coach Jackie Carson was named the Senior Associate Commissioner for ACC Women’s Basketball on June 8. Carson will serve as a member of the ACC’s Leadership Team, and is responsible for planning, implementing, and executing the overall management of the league’s women’s basketball operation. She will serve as the primary liaison to the ACC women’s basketball head coaches and committee members and will oversee the league’s women’s basketball supervisor of officials. Carson’s responsibilities will also consist of the management and oversight of the annual Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, regular-season conference scheduling, liaison work with the conference’s television partners and to the national basketball organizations including, but not limited to, the NCAA, WBCA, USA Basketball and Play4Kay.
• University of Pittsburgh Director of Athletics Heather Lyke announced Tory Verdi as the 10^th head coach in Pitt women's basketball history on April 7. Verdi comes to Pitt after spending the past seven seasons at Massachusetts where he helped lead the Minutewomen to 128 wins. Verdi guided the program to new heights as it secured its first regular season Atlantic 10 title this past season after earning the program's first Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2021-22.

ACC & the WNBA
• 17 former ACC standouts participated in this year's WNBA Playoffs, the most among all conferences. Three players advanced to the WNBA Finals, as former standouts Chelsea Gray (Duke) and Jackie Young (Notre Dame) led the Las Vegas Aces to their second straight title.
• For the 26th consecutive year, the ACC had at least one student-athlete selected in the WNBA Draft, as the 2023 edition was held Monday evening and broadcast live on ESPN. Virginia Tech guard Kayana Traylor was the first ACC player taken in the draft when she was selected by the Chicago Sky with the 11th pick in the second round. Miami forward Destiny Harden was selected with the third pick of the third round by the Phoenix Mercury. Virginia Tech graduate student Taylor Soule was taken by the Minnesota Lynx with the fourth pick in the third round.