College basketball is back, with games being played across the country Monday, including across the ACC.

In Chapel Hill, North Carolina begins a season guard RJ Davis dubbed “Championship or Bust” at ACC Media Days.

In Durham, N.C., the Duke Blue Devils begin the unthinkable: an era after the retirement of legend Mike Krzyzewski last March. You’ll be happy to know Krzyzewskiville is alive and well ahead of Monday night’s tip with Jacksonville.

In Charlottesville, Va., Tony Bennett and the Hoos are trying to erase the memory of the program’s first non-NCAA Tournament season since 2013.

And that’s just 3 of the league’s basketball hotbeds.

The ACC should be exponentially improved in 2022-23, with 6-7 teams considered NCAA Tournament locks as the season tips. Coming off a season when only 1 team spent the bulk of the season in the Top 25 (Duke), and Virginia Tech needed to win the ACC tournament to assure the league had 5 teams in the NCAA Tournament field, that certainly would be an improvement.

But how good will this league be?

Saturday Road projects the final destination for each of the league’s 15 basketball members.

Boston College Eagles 

Last Season: 13-20, 6-14 — no postseason

The Skinny: Earl Grant did a really good job last season in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles were competitive and Grant vastly improved the Eagles defensively, dragging them 80 spots from 200 to 120 in KenPom’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency metric. The Eagles didn’t score much, but Grant’s College of Charleston teams were outstanding offensively and given time to recruit, the offense will come for Boston College. Grant brought in 2 4-star freshmen in Donald Hand Jr. and Prince Aligbe who are immediate upgrades from an athleticism standpoint. The team’s ceiling might depend, however, on how transfer CJ Penha Jr. adjusts to playing Power 6 basketball after averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds in NCAA Division II. If Penha can give help to the very talented Jaeden Zackery in Grant’s backcourt, the Eagles might improve enough offensively to be a factor in the NCAA Tournament conversation.

Projection: NIT. The build continues at Boston College with a surprise postseason berth.

Clemson Tigers

Last Season: 17-16, 8-12 — no postseason

The Skinny: Brad Brownell, perennial occupant of a warm seat, begins a 13th season at Clemson and given the administration’s commitment to excellence everywhere else in its athletic department, you have to wonder when his time finally will run out. It has been 5 years since the 2017-18 Sweet 16 team, and while the Tigers were dancing 2 years ago, they didn’t threaten to make the tournament last year and would not have been in during the COVID-19 season. Making matters worse, they lost star forward PJ Hall for what could be the season (despite program optimism after a successful surgery) when Hall hurt himself during an offseason game. Without Hall, the Tigers have 5 scholarship players who haven’t played a college game and the lone healthy starter back is Hunter Tyson, who is more of a defensive forward. If Hall returns, there is hope, but if he’s out for an extended period, it will be a long season by Lake Hartwell, S.C.

Projection: No Postseason and Brownell is dismissed during March.

Duke Blue Devils

Last Season: 32-7, 16-4, ACC regular-season champion, Final Four

The Skinny: Jon Scheyer takes over for Coach K in the most-anticipated transition the sport has ever seen. Scheyer brings in a top-ranked recruiting class to help, led by Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead, the nation’s top- and 2nd-ranked recruits, respectively. The 3rd member of the class, Kyle Filipowski, ranked 4th. Mark Mitchell, another 5-star, ranked among the top 25. In other words, Scheyer’s first Duke team is loaded with NBA talent. He also has salty veteran point guard Jeremy Roach, who really came into his own during the NCAA Tournament last season. Roach will need to be a calming presence as the program’s lone upperclassman starter. The team has more questions this season than a year ago, when key returnees like Mark Williams and Wendell Moore Jr. balanced out a roster with freshman stars AJ Griffin and Paolo Banchero. But this team has as much, if not more aggregate talent, and thanks to a brutal schedule, should be battle-tested come March.

Projection: The Sweet 16. A young team finds its way to the 2nd weekend, but when you return just 11% of your scoring and 7% of your rebounding, a lot can go wrong, and at some point, all the questions will limit this team’s final ceiling.

Florida State Seminoles

Last Season: 17-14, 10-10 — no postseason

The Skinny: Leonard Hamilton’s program missed the NCAA Tournament for the 1st time since 2016, as it was offensively challenged, injury-riddled and unable to defend at the program’s usually suffocating level. That looked ready to change in 2022-23, but the program suffered 2 brutal blows during the fall. First, Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and prize transfer Jaylan Gainey was lost for the season with a knee injury, depriving Hamilton of the type of athletic big man he has feasted on opposing offenses with in the middle of his half-court defense. The Seminoles then lost prized recruit Baba Miller for 16 games because of an NCAA-imposed improper benefits suspension — all for things FSU didn’t have any control over — meaning the Seminoles will be missing their best transfer-portal piece and best recruit for at least half the season. That’s tough, but so is this program. Matthew Cleveland, a former top-25 recruit, made huge strides late in the season and sharpshooting transfer Darin Green Jr. of UCF should improve the Seminoles’ shooting, which was woeful from deep in 2021-22. Jalen Warley, a 6-foot-6 NBA prototype guard with Hamilton defensive menace written all over him, could be the X-factor: if he breaks out, the Seminoles will survive the Miller suspension and advance to the Big Dance.

Projection: NCAA Tournament, 1st Round. Seeding won’t do the Noles any favors as they could struggle out of the gate, but this team will tdown some teams when Miller returns and do enough to return Hamilton to the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Last Season: 12-20, 5-15 — no postseason

The Skinny: Georgia Tech couldn’t replace ACC Player of the Year Moses Wright or the orchestra conductor play of point guard Jose Alvarado and limped to the worst season of the Josh Pastner era. I would like to say the Yellow Jackets turn it around in 2022-23, but leading scorer Michael DeVoe is off to the NBA G League and Jordan Usher ran out of eligibility, meaning the team’s leading returning scorer is lead guard Kyle Sturdivant, who averaged just 7.6 per contest. Getting pesky defender Deivon Smith, a former high 4-star recruit for Ben Howland at Mississippi State, was a portal win, but there aren’t enough pieces here to make much noise in the league.

Projection: No Postseason. If Georgia Tech finishes among the bottom 5 of the league, expect a change at head coach.

Louisville Cardinals

Last Season: 13-19, 6-14 — no postseason

The Skinny: A season that began with Top 25 expectations fizzled quickly, with Chris Mack dismissed halfway through the regular season and the Cardinals proving to be among the most inept offensive team in the Power 6 along the way (173rd in KenPom Adjusted Offensive Efficiency, the 5th worst in Power 6 basketball!) Kenny Payne, a Louisville alum, seems born for the job, but his current roster is a far cry from the group that won the program’s last national championship, under Rick Pitino in 2013. In fact, it has been 4 years since Louisville went to the NCAA Tournament, and while there are nice pieces, like Tennessee transfer Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and talented, physical wing Jae’Lyn Withers, the real work for Payne is recruiting and replenishing the roster with elite talent not seen since the late Pitino years.

Projection: No postseason, but a beautiful recruiting haul.

Miami Hurricanes

Last Season: 26-11, 14-6 — Elite Eight

The Skinny: Jim Larrañaga keeps winning in Coral Gables, taking a team with more guards than Everglades Correctional to the Elite Eight a season ago in his deepest NCAA Tournament run yet in 4 appearances at The U. Miami returns the centerpiece of that team, guard Isaiah Wong, who is the best returning player in the ACC outside of Armando Bacot of North Carolina. Wong will be without star teammates Kam McGusty and Charlie Moore, lost to graduation, but to remedy that, Larrañaga went out and won the transfer portal, bringing in dynamic Kansas State scorer Nijel Pack (for a lot of NIL money!) and Sun Belt Player of the Year Norchad Omier, who gives the Canes the inside grinder last season’s team lacked as it couldn’t keep Kansas off the glass in a tough loss in the Elite Eight. Last season, Miami flew under the radar, picked 12th in the league. This season, it is expected to be good but was picked just 5th at ACC Media Days. Saturday Road thinks the Canes are better than that, and this team should return the 72-year old Larrañaga to the 2nd weekend.

Projection: Sweet 16. What the future holds for the program after Wong departs is a huge question, but this will be a fun ride.

North Carolina Tar Heels

Last Season: 29-10, 15-5 — national runner-up

The Skinny: The “Iron Five” are gone, but the “Fatigueless Four” return for Carolina, including 2 All-American candidates in point guard Caleb Love and big man Armando Bacot. The latter should challenge for Wooden Award honors if he stays healthy. Coach Hubert Davis insists this team will be deeper, too, thanks to a nice haul of freshmen and the growth of reserves like Puff Johnson and Dontrez Styles. The real key will be Northwestern transfer Pete Nance and how he adjusts to life in the more athletic ACC. Nance can shoot, and he appears the perfect replacement for Brady Manek, the stretch 4 who made it so hard to guard the Tar Heels’ outstanding spacing a season ago. If Nance is a fit, the Tar Heels have a splendid chance to hang another national championship banner in the Dean Dome rafters.

Projection: National champions. A 7th national championship for the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill will be a fitting send-off to the marvelous Fatigueless Four of RJ Davis, Bacot, Love and Leaky Black.

NC State Wolfpack

Last Season: 11-21, 4-16 — no postseason

The Skinny: There’s plenty of talent here to erase the taste of last season, which never got off the ground after star big man Manny Bates was injured within the first 90 seconds of the season. Terquavion Smith, the Pack’s leading returning scorer, averaged 16.3 per night and gives coach Kevin Keatts a prolific player on the perimeter. Former Ole Miss point guard Jarkel Joiner also is going to allow NC State the luxury of keeping Smith off the ball, which will better optimize the star’s skillset. If Winthrop’s underrated big DJ Burns can make the leap to the ACC, and Jack Clark, a transfer from LaSalle who Keatts envisions as a stretch 4, can be more efficient (his effective field-goal percentage last season was just 45.4% in the Atlantic 10), then there’s a chance this team flirts with the bubble. The Wolfpack also must improve defensively, as its 246th KenPom Adjusted Defensive Efficiency rank last year was the worst among Power 6 teams.

Projection: NIT. Will a postseason berth — even if it is to the Little Party and not The Big Dance, be enough to save Keatts in Raleigh?

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Last Season: 24-11, 15-5 — Second round, NCAA Tournament

The Skinny: Notre Dame believes it can replicate the formula that took it back to the NCAA Tournament last season: surround a brilliant freshman with complementary veteran pieces, score effortlessly, and do just enough on defense. This season, the role of star freshman, played so capably by Blake Wesley a season ago, will be manned by 5-star recruit JJ Starling, who will compete for ACC Freshman of the Year with Duke’s stars. The Fighting Irish also return sharpshooting Dane Goodwin, jack-of-all-trades forward Nate Laszewski, and starting wing Cormac Ryan. Another top 100 freshman, Ven-Allen Lubin, could be a wild card for a team that has everything you need to win except depth. Expect another excellent season for the Fighting Irish.

Projection: Second round, NCAA Tournament. A deeper run wouldn’t be stunning, but at some point, a small rotation and an average defense will catch up to coach Mike Brey’s men.

Pittsburgh Panthers

Last Season: 11-21, 6-14 — no postseason

The Skinny: Pitt started terribly in 2021-22, but the Panthers won 3 straight during February, including a stunning victory at eventual national runner-up North Carolina during mid-February. Coach Jeff Capel would love to channel that energy and get help for star big John Hugley IV, in 2022-23. Once again, the Panthers have a number of new faces, with a 2nd roster flip in as many years featuring 5 transfers and 3 highly touted freshmen. Nelly Cummings, a consistent scorer at Patriot League power Colgate, will stabilize Capel’s offense a bit, as will Dior Johnson if he returns from suspension over an assault charge. But is there enough here to flip the narrative about a program in decline under Capel?

Projection: NIT. Hugley is excellent, Blake Hinson, an Ole Miss transfer, is healthy, and I love what Capel did in the transfer portal. The Panthers will be among the league’s most exciting stories.

Syracuse Orange

Last Season: 16-17, 9-11 — no postseason

The Skinny: The Boeheim brothers are gone, and with them, a huge amount of offensive production from a team that posted the 1st losing record during the Jim Boeheim era. The 77-year-old Boeheim believes this team will be much better, mostly because they are more athletic and will be a better fit for his 2-3 zone, but there’s not much to like offensively beyond Joseph Girard III. If top-100 freshman Judah Mintz is as advertised, perhaps the Orange will be a sleeper team in this league, but this seems like a roster in transition under a coach who is refusing to let go.

Projection: No Postseason. The calls for Boeheim to step down will only grow louder after this season.

Virginia Cavaliers 

Last Season: 21-14, 12-8, NIT quarterfinals

The Skinny: Tony Bennett returns what’s among the most experienced teams in college basketball and in a rare dive in to the transfer portal, made the Cavs better by adding Ohio University stretch 4 Ben Vander Plas, who averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in the Mid-American Conference last season. We say “rare dive” into the portal because Bennett still prefers to recruit players and let them grow old in the Cavs system — but the reality is 2 of the Hoos’ best players also are transfers in Armaan Franklin and Jayden Gardner. Both in their 2nd seasons in Charlottesville, Bennett expects both to be more comfortable in the pack-line defense and help restore the program’s lofty defensive standards after a dip in defensive production during 2021-22 (Virginia’s 1st sub-50 defensive efficiency performance under Bennett since 2011. If that happens, there’s plenty to like about the Cavs, beginning with senior point guard Kihei Clark, the league’s only floor general to win a national championship.

Projection: 2nd round, NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers head back to the Big Dance but aren’t quite prolific enough on either end to advance to the 2nd weekend.

Virginia Tech Hokies

Last Season: 23-13, 11-9 — ACC tournament champions, 1st round, NCAA Tournament

The Skinny: Justyn Mutts is a stat sheet god and a bona fide ACC Player of the Year candidate. Coach Mike Young’s offense is computer candy, and the Hokies were adored by Bart Torvik, KenPom and other metrics for the 2nd consecutive season, only to lose in the 1st round of the Big Dance again. At their best, the Hokies hit shots from deep clinically and defend just well enough to beat anyone in their path, as we saw in New York at the ACC tournament last season. The bulk of that team is back, even if All-ACC talent Keve Aluma, the team’s most prolific inside piece, is gone. The Hokies should be lethal from deep, with Hunter Cattoor (42% from 3), Sean Pedulla (45%) and Darius Maddux (51%!!) all back. Young is a master at spacing and creating looks for shooters, and this offense should be fun to watch as a result. There isn’t much frontcourt depth, and the Hokies lack a true point guard (Pedulla is options 1 and 2) — but it’s hard not to be excited about this team’s ceiling.

Projection: Sweet 16. Finally, a breakthrough for Young, among the game’s most underrated coaches.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Last Season: 25-10, 13-7 — NIT quarterfinals

The Skinny: The Demon Deacons lose the 2 biggest pieces of last season’s surprising 25-win season. Alondes Williams and Jake LaRavia are off to play professional basketball, leaving the team facing the same task that sank Georgia Tech a season ago: replacing an ACC Player of the Year and his best sidekick. Saturday Road loved the addition of Florida point guard Tyree Appleby, who can heat up like a microwave and will provide a young team invaluable leadership. Appleby is even more special off the court as an impressive young man than he is on it. Damari Monsanto has All-ACC talent, assuming he’s healthy, and that gives Wake Forest hope on the wing, too. But will Wake Forest have the balance it had a season ago that almost took it back to the Big Dance? It’s hard to see that absent a leap from a frontcourt player, and as a result, expect a small step back for Wake Forest in 2022-23.

Projection: No Postseason. A competitive team falls just short of an NIT bid.