ACC Basketball Conference Odds: Tar Heels Solid Favorites
Duke, Virginia Knocking on Door
The ACC Basketball Conference odds have the University of North Carolina predicted to win the conference and they should. When you have the likes of Armando Bacot and Caleb Love returning, you’re going to win a lot of games. Jon Scheyer takes over for the legendary Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and the Blue Devils have talent. Just not as much as North Carolina.
The Big Two
The conference looks to be a two-horse race between North Carolina and Duke if the ACC Basketball Conference odds are a good indication. Virginia is the only other team at less than +1200.
North Carolina (+130): The Tar Heels are strong favorites to win the conference title, with the ACC Basketball Conference odds showing them at +130. North Carolina returns a ton of talent in not only Bacot and Love, but also R.J. Davis (13.5 ppg, 3.6 apg) and several others who made solid contributions to last year’s NCAA Tournament runner-up.
North Carolina had a solid recruiting class, ranked in the top 20, but the Tar Heels’ fortunes are going to tied to Bacot, Love and Davis. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, either, as UNC has a good inside-outside game that should give them the best of most college basketball matchups. Any help those three get from the others will be a bonus.
Duke (+225): The Blue Devils lost a lot of faces from last year’s team, with Krzyzewski the most recognizable. Duke’s top five scorers from last year’s Final Four team are gone. But don’t shed too many tears for Scheyer, as Duke had the best recruiting class in the country. The Blue Devils landed three of the top five recruits in the country and five of the top 30. Several of the prized freshmen are a little banged up at the start of the season.
Duke will be tough up front. Ryan Young (9.0 pgg, 4.2 rpg) comes over from Northwestern and two of its top three freshmen, Dereck Lively II and Kyle Filipowski, are centers. That gives the Blue Devils three new players 6-foot-10 or taller. The Blue Devils may start a little slow until the players meld together a bit, and could be a team to go against early on the NCAAB spreads but they should be at their best when the conference tournament rolls around.
Best of the Rest
The Cavaliers don’t have the natural talent of Duke or UNC but few teams get as much from their players as Virginia. Miami and Virginia Tech have an outside shot but need a number of things to fall in place.
Virginia (+550): The Cavaliers are coming off a disappointing season that saw them settle for an NIT berth. The ACC Basketball Conference odds have Virginia well below UNC and Duke but well above the rest of the conference. Virginia returns leading scorer and rebounder Jayden Gardner, along with their second- and third-leading scorers.
The Cavaliers had a good recruiting class, which isn’t always easy for Virginia. A lot of high school players want no part of the team’s “defense first” philosophy. But the Cavs finished in the top 15 nationally. Virginia’s style and defense can give any team fits, but UNC and Duke might just have too much talent for the Cavs.
Miami, Fla. (+1200): The Hurricanes are coming off an Elite Eight appearance but did lose two of their top three scorers. Miami did a pretty good job recruiting, and even better in the transfer portal.
The ‘Canes landed Nijel Pack and his 17.4 points per game from Kansas State and Norchad Omier from Arizona State, where he scored 17.9 points and grabbed 12.2 rebounds per game. Miami had a habit of coming up short in close games last year, with three of its 11 losses by a single point. If the Hurricanes can reverse that this college basketball season they’ll be near the top of the NCAAB standings.
Virginia Tech (+1200): The ACC Basketball Conference odds give Virginia Tech a chance to win the conference but it will be tough. The Hokies had an above average recruiting class and added Grant Basile from Wright State, where he averaged 18.4 points per game last year. The Hokies see two of their three leading scorers back for another season. Virginia Tech will be good, but good isn’t likely to be enough in the ACC.
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