ACC is Poised for Historic Failure When NCAA Tournament Field is Revealed

March is less than a month away and the ACC is facing disaster. The conference, which is perennially regarded as the best in the nation for college basketball, is staring at the possibility of only sending three teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2020, the fewest it has sent since 2000.

Louisville, Duke and Florida State are currently the only locks to qualify, as they have dominated the conference this season with a combined record of 26-5 against ACC opponents. Virginia and Syracuse are hanging in as potential bubble teams, but the current situation is still uncharted territory for the ACC.

20 years ago, when the ACC only sent three teams to the tournament, it had just nine member schools, and even then it was seen as a problem. Now, with a 15-member conference, the prospect of only sending three teams to the tournament this season is an outright embarrassment.

Since its most recent expansion in 2013, when it added Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the ACC has averaged 7.3 NCAA tournament berths per year and it's never had less than six in a season. The good news for the conference is that this is he worst-case scenario, with the top-three teams in the conference seemingly locked in to get at-large bids.

The defending national champion Cavaliers lost their three best players to the NBA after last year's title run. What they've been left with is an oft-injured Braxton Key and a remaining roster that can't do much without him. Virginia is the ACC's best hope for adding at least one more team to the tournament, but it's anything but certain.

The Orange failed to build any type of cushion in non-conference play, making recent home losses to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech that much bigger of a blow to their March Madness dreams. The one thing that Syracuse might find some solace in is that they seem to pull off commendable postseason performances in even number years, with a run to the Final Four as a No. 10 seed in 2016, and to the regional semifinals as a No. 11 seed in 2018. But, they're running out time to prove they even deserve the chance in 2020.

UNC, a perennial ACC powerhouse, is inching closer to its worst season under head coach Roy Williams. At 10-11 overall and 3-7 in conference play, they are already one loss away from matching their worst record in ten years. As they fall closer to the basement of the conference, the woes of the ACC this season are all but epitomized by the Tar Heels.