Despite all of its success, the ACC spent much of the year telling it it was having a bad year and that it had lost its place as one of the best conferences in college basketball.
But the ACC reminds everyone which conference has the most national championships, and it could add another to the collection with four of its teams advancing to the NCAA men's Sweet 16 tournament, the most of any conference.
It wasn't as special as what North Carolina or Duke accomplished, but it's the ACC's upsets that make it great. NC State remains the only double-digit seed in the Sweet 16, but Clemson had the most impressive road in the second weekend with wins over Mountain West champion New Mexico and a high-powered Baylor team.
Clemson did not falter against an offense averaging 80 points per game, attacking the Bears with its elite offensive play while shutting down Baylor for much of the night. Even when Baylor got up late and went for a run, the Tigers didn't crack defensively and made their free throws to secure the win.
Despite starting the season 11-1 with some impressive wins, Clemson flew under the radar for most of the season. Despite going 11-9 in conference play, the Tigers have managed to stay comfortably in the tournament picture, and haven't cracked against opponents most thought would eliminate them. Clemson is the real deal — and so is the ACC — which is why the Tigers lead the winners and losers on the final day of the men's tournament's second round.
Follow the madness: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.
Winners
Duke Jared McCain
Give Duke full credit for crushing James Madison, but Jared McCain deserves a special shout out for what he did against the Dukes.
Coming into the tournament, James Madison had given up fewer than six 3-pointers per game as one of the best perimeter defenses in the country. But McCain was no slouch as he hit eight 3-pointers and had 30 points with five rebounds on a great day of shooting.
The freshman has shown some leadership so far in the tournament after leading the team with 15 points in a first-round win over Fairmont. The Blue Devils have veteran leaders on their team, but if a freshman like McCain steps up and puts in a performance like this, Duke could be on its way to its first Final Four under John Scheyer.
Losers
Baylor
Baylor has been a very consistent team since making the national championship, placing among the top three in each tournament the past three seasons. But Baylor has been a disappointment since winning that title, failing to live up to its seeding and missing the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row.
The Bears had one of the best offenses in the country, including being one of the top 10 teams in 3-point percentage. You couldn't tell on Sunday with Baylor's offense getting off to a frigid start, which included just one field goal made in the final seven minutes of the first half. Baylor was able to catch up, but then couldn't make free throws to tie the game against Clemson. Baylor finished the day 21-for-54 (38.9%) from the field, 6-for-24 (25%) from 3-point land and 16-for-26 (61.5%) from the foul line.
In the past three tournaments, Baylor has been eliminated by a No. 8 seed and a No. 6 seed twice, proving that it doesn't win games like it should. Now, Baylor is starting to look like the team it was known for before the title: a team that continues to underperform.
James Madison's defense
The Dukes showed all season long, especially in their first-round win over Wisconsin, how their defense was key to their 32-win season.
But it wasn't there against Duke on Saturday, as it was exposed early and often against Duke in a 93-55 loss, the biggest loss of the season for Duke.
Duke is a good team offensively, but James Madison had to like its chances given the nightmares he gave Wisconsin two days ago. But one of the best three-point defenses in the country couldn't stop Duke from drilling the ball beyond the arc. The Dukes have been holding their opponents to 29.1% 3-point shooting this season, but the Blue Devils are making 14 of 28 (50%). JMU only gave up an average of 5.9 3-pointers per game, but it didn't take Duke long to surpass that mark in the first half.
After Friday's win, James Madison looked like it would give Duke a competitive matchup for a chance to make the first Sweet 16 game in school history. Instead, their brilliant season ended in a shocking defeat.
“Food ninja. Friendly thinker. Explorer. Entrepreneur. Zombie junkie.