3 ACC teams to watch for in the conference tournament

The ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament starts Wednesday in Greensboro, North Carolina. Virginia Tech enters the tournament as the top overall seed after winning the regular season title, but the status of two-time ACC Player of the Year, Elizabeth Kitley, is in doubt after she suffered an injury on Sunday against Virginia in the third quarter.

Without her, if she can't play, it’s going to be very tough for the Hokies to defend as tournament champions, but there are still plenty of teams that are going to try and unseat Virginia Tech with or without Kitley in the lineup. Here are three teams to watch out for in the ACC Tournament.

1. Notre Dame

It feels like the Irish are playing some of the best basketball heading into the tournament. They closed out the regular season last week with impressive wins at home over Virginia Tech and Louisville to get the fourth and final double-bye. Hannah Hidalgo is a fun player to watch and her teammates surrounding her are stepping up. If they can carry their play from last week into Greensboro, they could run the table and win it to get a top-four NCAA Tournament seed and host a first and second round in a couple of weeks.

2. Duke

This might seem like an odd choice, however, Kara Lawson has the Blue Devils ready each time they take the court and have proven this season that they can beat anyone in the conference on any given night. Virginia Tech fans know how tough Duke is as they beat them in Durham before surviving them at home last month to win by five points. If there is one team outside the of the top four that can make a deep run, it’s the Blue Devils with the defense they play.

3. Syracuse

Looking for an under-the-radar team to win the tournament? The Orange are a very good candidate for that. Coming into the season they were not expected to be competing with the top teams in the conference, but they finished with the third seed and a double-bye. Dyaisha Fair is one of the better scorers in the conference and coach Felisha Legette-Jack has done a tremendous job in Western New York in turning them into a contender in the tough ACC quickly. They were an overtime loss away at NC State in their last game from sharing the ACC title with Virginia Tech.

It is going to be a fun tournament in Greensboro this week, but of course, all eyes are on Kitley and her status with her injury.