No. 5 Maryland (29-2) and second-ranked and three-time defending ACC champion North Carolina (27-2) enter as the prohibitive favorites to win the tournament, which starts Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum. They are the league's only teams in the Top 10, hold the top two seeds and have one conference loss between them - the top-seeded Tar Heels' double-overtime victory two months ago in Chapel Hill. (Lakeland Ledger)