By Brian Murphy, WRAL

The ACC holds its first basketball tip-off event as an 18-team conference this week in Charlotte.

Here are the top storylines along with a schedule of events for the week:

Top men’s storylines

1. Cooper-mania: Duke freshman Cooper Flagg was the No. 1 recruit in the nation. He held his own against the star-studded Team USA roster in pre-Olympic training camp. He signed a shoe deal with New Balance. The 6-foot-9 wing is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the loaded 2025 NBA Draft with teams already looking to increase their lottery odds. Flagg will not attend this week’s event in Charlotte, but he will be a hot topic. Can Flagg and a talented freshman class lead Duke to a national title? Failing that, can he duplicate the excitement of Zion Williamson’s lone season in Durham and turn every Blue Devil game into must-watch TV? No pressure.

2. NC State seeks to sustain success: The Wolfpack stunned everyone with its five-game run to the ACC tournament title and then extended its season all the way to the Final Four. It was the school’s first men’s ACC title sine 1987 and its first Final Four appearance since 1983. No one in red wants to see a similar drought. Some of the March heroes, notably DJ Burns and DJ Horne, are gone, but Michael O’Connell and Ben Middlebrooks are back along with a new crop of transfers (including former UNC wing Dontrez Styles) and freshman (led by guard Paul McNeil).

3. An encore for RJ Davis: The ACC Player of the Year returns for a fifth season at UNC, and it’s hard to imagine he can play any better than he did last year. Davis was a consensus All-America after averaging 21.1 points per game and shooting 39.3% from 3-point range. “I’d be okay if he had the same type of year that he had last year,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis. RJ Davis leads a strong backcourt for the Tar Heels, who will need to find some production out of a new-look frontcourt.

4. No tournament for you: Despite the additions of California, Stanford and SMU, the ACC Tournament will remain a 15-team affair with a bye for the top eight seeds and a double bye for the top four seeds. No one wants to miss the ACC Tournament (held in Charlotte), so there may be more attention on the bottom of the standings.

5. How will newcomers fare: None of the new schools bring much in men’s basketball tradition or fanfare. Cal last made the NCAA Tournament in 2016, though there is some optimism around second-year coach Mark Madsen. Stanford’s last NCAA appearance came in 2014. SMU’s last tournament berth was in 2017, but the Mustangs lured coach Andy Enfield (of Florida Gulf Coast fame from Southern Cal) for its first year in the ACC.

READ MORE: Men’s schedule highlights

Top women’s storylines

1. Can the sport carry the momentum? Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are in the WNBA, but the college game returns stars like JuJu Watkins (USC) and Paige Bueckers (UConn). In some ways, the women’s game has more momentum and more recognizable returners than the men’s game. Without Clark, will the crowds and TV audience stick around?

2. What more can Moore do? NC State and coach Wes Moore broke through last March with a trip to the Final Four, the second in school history. Moore led the ‘Pack to three consecutive ACC tournament titles (2020-22) and the regular-season title in 2022. NC State has made the NCAA Tournament eight years (counting the 2020 tournament which was not played) and five Sweet 16s since 2018. First-team All-ACC selection Saniya Rivers is back to lead a talented roster. About the only thing left for Moore and NC State to accomplish is winning a national title.

(L-R) NC State Head Coach Wes Moore, guard Saniya Rivers and guard Aziaha James at the 2024 ACC Women’s Basketball Tipoff in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Photo by Nell Redmond/ACC)

3. Can UNC take the next step? Head coach Courtney Banghart has guided the Tar Heels to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four seasons, but UNC has lost in the second round the last two years. Deja Kelly is gone to Oregon via the transfer portal. But Alyssa Ustby is back and the Tar Heels have a talented roster. Can UNC find a way to score more, especially late in games? The Tar Heels lost four of their last six games and were held to 63 points or less in five of them.

4. Can loaded ACC win a national title? The ACC is, arguably, the deepest conference in the country. But the league hasn’t put a team in the national title game since before COVID. ESPN, in September, ranked Notre Dame (No. 6), NC State (No. 9), Duke (No. 10), North Carolina (No. 13), Louisville (No. 17) and Florida State (No. 19) among the top 20 schools. Stanford’s legendary Tara VanDerveer retired before bringing the Cardinal into the ACC.

5. Is Duke’s Reigan Richardson ready to breakout? Richardson averaged 12.4 points per game for the Blue Devils last season when they reached the Sweet 16. In the tournament, she scored 25 points in the first round and 28 points in the second round, but was held to 10 points in a loss to Connecticut. Richardson, a senior, made second-team All-ACC last year. She had seven games scoring 20 or more points, but 14 scoring less than 10 points.

READ MORE: Important dates for ACC women’s basketball in the Triangle

Tipoff press conference schedule

Tuesday

NC State women (Coach Wes Moore, Saniya Rivers, Aziaha James)

Duke women (Coach Kara Lawson, Ashlon Jackson, Reigan Richardson)

Wednesday

8:30 a.m.: Boston College women

9 a.m.: California women

9:30 a.m.: Louisville women

10 a.m.: North Carolina women

10:30 a.m.: Stanford women

11 a.m.: Virginia Tech women

12:30 p.m.: Commissioner Jim Phillips

1:30 p.m.: Stanford men

2:15 p.m.: Florida State men

2:45 p.m.: NC State men

3:30 p.m.: Duke men

4 p.m.: Georgia Tech men

4:30 p.m.: SMU men

Thursday

8:30 a.m.: Syracuse men

9:15 a.m.: Virginia Tech men

9:45 p.m.: North Carolina men

10:30 a.m.: Virginia men

11:15 a.m.: California men

11:45 a.m.: Wake Forest men

1:30 p.m.: Boston College men

2:15 p.m.: Miami men

2:45 p.m.: Louisville men

3:30 p.m.: Clemson men

4 p.m.: Notre Dame men

4:30 p.m.: Pitt men

Source: wralsportsfan.com