The ACC has separated itself as the premier league in college basketball.

The conference had four teams in the Elite Eight last March during the NCAA Tournament and continues to be a cut above everyone else in the sport.

Check out our breakdown below for five offseason storylines in the ACC.

1. Duke enters the season with high expectations

Can Duke Blue Devils have the type of season that Kentucky Wildcats had in 2014-15?

It’s hard to see Mike Krzyzewski’s team running the table in ACC play, but Duke is set up to be a heavy favorite entering the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils return four double-figure scorers — Grayson Allen , Amile Jefferson , Matt Jones , and Luke Kennard — from last year’s team that reached the Sweet 16 while adding a terrific recruiting class headlined by five-star prospects Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles, and Frank Jackson.

This team has four players — Allen, Tatum, Giles, and Jackson — who are currently projected to be first-round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Duke navigates the best conference in college basketball, especially on the road, but Krzyzewski is a master at always finding a way to push the right buttons.

Anything less than a 30-win season and a deep run in March would be a shock considering the talent, depth, and experience that is currently in this program.

The Blue Devils will certainly be captivating in 2016-17.

2. Virginia seeks Final Four breakthrough

Virginia Cavaliers has dominated its area for the past few seasons, but have yet to break through and reach college basketball’s most hallowed showcase: the Final Four.

The Cavaliers had a 16-point lead in the second-half against Syracuse Orange last March in the Elite Eight, only to see that lead evaporate in the closing minutes.

Tony Bennett has led the Cavaliers to a 99-19 record over the past three years and has clearly emerged as one of the elite tacticians in the sport.

His poise, demeanor, and humility in which he carries himself is a total throwback to another time.

But when will Virginia finally break through and reach college basketball’s ultimate showcase?

It could easily happen next season.

The Cavaliers return five of their top eight players from last year’s team that won 29 games while adding a potential first-team All-ACC player in Memphis Tigers transfer Austin Nichols .

Nichols and senior guard London Perrantes — a three-year starter — should give Virginia one of the better inside-outside duos in its conference to along with a very strong recruiting class.

A name to remember in Charlottesville?

Kyle Guy.

The 6-foot-3 freshman can play either guard spot and is flat out fearless. He’ll be a known name in the ACC sooner rather than later.

3. NCAA Tournament will be filled with ACC teams

Duke guard Matt Jones made 76 3-pointers last season. USATSI

The ACC will again be very well represented in the NCAA Tournament.

How many bids can this league expect next March in the field of 68?

Eight or nine seems like a legitimate possibility.

The ACC is as competitive a conference as I’ve ever seen 1-through-12 and 5-through-12 in the league standings looks to be interchangeable.

Syracuse, Virginia Tech Hokies , Clemson Tigers , Miami, Florida State Seminoles , NC State Wolfpack , Pitt, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish are all teams that will begin next season believing that they have a legitimate chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, but it’s highly unlikely that all of them will achieve that goal.

Duke, Virginia, North Carolina Tar Heels , and Louisville Cardinals look to be the class of the ACC, but after that is a real hodge podge.

Expect another banner year for a league that much like the old Big East, has cemented itself as the premier conference in the sport.

4. Pitt needs to find a replacement for James Robinson

The four-year starter was the heart and soul of the Panthers’ program over the past few years and finding his successor is currently the million dollar question in Western Pennsylvania Quakers .

Kevin Stallings has a legitimate chance to take Pitt to the NCAA Tournament in his first season as the Panthers’ head coach, but it’s never a good feeling when you have to replace a point guard like Robinson who only had 42 turnovers last year in 1,055 total minutes played.

The door is open for Damon Wilson , a 6-foot-5 sophomore to step in for Robinson, but it remains to be seen if he’s capable of running an ACC team after averaging just 10.8 minutes last season as a freshman.

Pitt returns four starters — Mike Young, Jamel Artis , Sheldon Jeter , and Chris Jones — from last year’s team that lost to Wisconsin Badgers in the NCAA Tournament, with Young and Artis in position to be All-ACC players in 2016-17.

The Panthers’ season will come down to if they can find an adequate replacement for Robinson at the most important position on the floor and on how Stallings adjusts to the best league in the country after spending the past 17 years in the SEC.

5. Florida State looks like a sleeper

The Seminoles haven’t heard their name called on Selection Sunday since they won the ACC Tournament in 2012, but Leonard Hamilton’s squad has the makings of a team that’s going to be deceptively good next season.

Florida State went 20-14 last year despite the fact that 7-1 big man Michael Ojo and Phi Cofer only played a combined 11 games due to injuries.

Both of those players should be fresh and ready for the start of the season in November and Hamilton boasts two returning starters — Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Dwayne Bacon — who have a legitimate chance to be drafted next June.

Terrance Mann and Jarquez Smith are back as capable rotation pieces while 6-10 freshman Jonathan Isaac is a one-and-done type talent who should be a major offensive mismatch at power forward.

Add JUCO import Braian Angola-Rodas (21.4 points last season), a 6-6 wing who could replace Malik Beasley in the Seminoles’ starting lineup, and Florida State has a real chance to finish in the ACC’s top half.

This is the best roster in the conference that no one is talking about.

This and That

• How good was Joel Berry for North Carolina during the NCAA Tournament? In six games, the 6-foot point guard averaged 13.7 points and 5.0 assists while only committing eight total turnovers in 198 minutes of action. That’s just one turnover every 24.8 minutes.
• Louisville’s Rick Pitino told CBS Sports that Mangok Mathiang (foot) won’t be ready for full-contact drills until Oct. 1. The 6-10 big man only played 10 games last season due to injury and averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in 18.8 minutes.
• Syracuse’s Franklin Howard is in position to be one of the breakout players in the ACC. The 6-4 guard averaged just 1.6 points in 10.5 minutes last season as a freshman, but will compete with Colorado State Rams transfer John Gillon for the Orange’s starting point guard spot. Expect Howard to be another one of those four-year players who gets incrementally better under Jim Boeheim as his career progresses.
• Virginia Tech returns seven of its top eight players from last year’s team that won 20 games and lost to Brigham Young Cougars in the NIT while adding a healthy Ahmed Hill (patella) and Ty Outlaw (illness). Be afraid of the Hokies — be very afraid.
• Boston College Eagles ‘s ACC record since firing Al Skinner is 28-76. No other words are needed.