North Carolina, Duke The Teams to Beat in ACC Tourney
The 2024 ACC Odds Has North Carolina and Duke Leading the Way
Will the Tar Heels and Blue Devils Finally Meet Again In ACC Tourney?
The more things they change, the more they stay the same with North Carolina and Duke earning the top seeds in the ACC tournament and leading the way in the 2024 ACC odds as the tournament is set to begin on Tuesday.
Either Duke or North Carolina reached the ACC title game in 23 of the last 24 tournaments and they can’t meet until the championship game.
The tournament begins on Tuesday with three first-round games before the title contenders hit the court in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The championship game is set for Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET, and it will air on ESPN.
When looking at the NCAA men’s basketball rankings, both North Carolina and Duke were in the top 10 in both national polls last week.
North Carolina leads all ACC teams at +1800 in the odds to win March Madness followed by Duke at +2500.
Rivals Ready to Meet Again?
It might come as a surprise to some who bet online to realize that Duke and North Carolina haven’t met in the ACC tournament championship game since 2011.
The 2024 ACC odds have North Carolina priced at +140, followed by Duke at +150.
North Carolina swept both games against Duke during the regular season. The Tar Heels won at home 93-84 as a 4.5-point favorite on Feb. 3 and went into Cameron Indoor Stadium and took down the Blue Devils 84-79 as the 4.5-point underdog in the regular-season finale.
Duke is the defending champion, while North Carolina hasn’t won the ACC tournament since 2016.
North Carolina has failed to cover in 11 neutral-site games over the last three college basketball seasons, the highest total in the ACC.
A Look At the Other Contenders
Clemson is listed at +800 in the 2024 ACC odds, and that trails only North Carolina and Duke even though Clemson is the No. 6 seed. Wake Forest, the No. 5 seed, is next at +900.
Pittsburgh, the No. 4 seed, has +1200 championship odds, with Virginia, the No. 3 seed, lagging behind a bit at +2000.
Pittsburgh leads the ACC with a 19-9-3 record against the spread.
Pittsburgh and Clemson are tied with Duke for second among ACC teams with two wins against ranked teams.
Virginia proved to be no match for Duke in an early March matchup, and that is playing a role in the NCAAB odds for the Cavaliers.
Pittsburgh comes into the tournament on a three-game winning streak.
After winning at home against Duke, Wake Forest lost three games in a row before winning at home against Clemson as a 3.5-point favorite.
The rest of the field is in a position of needing to win the ACC tournament to earn a spot in the March Madness bracket, so keep that in mind when the tournament gets underway.
Who Will Be Dancing?
North Carolina and Duke will be part of the March Madness bracket no matter what happens in the ACC tournament.
North Carolina has moved up three spots to No. 7 in the NCAA NET rankings, so the Tar Heels have a chance to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. However, it would likely take some surprising results from the teams ahead of them for the Tar Heels to be in play for a No. 1 seed.
Duke is 10th in the NET rankings, with the three Quad 2 losses likely to impact the seeding for the Blue Devils.
No. 26 Clemson is next among ACC teams in the NCAA NET rankings, so the Tigers are looking good to get into the March Madness bracket. With a 2-5 record in Quad 1 games, Wake Forest is just 38th in the NET rankings.
Pittsburgh is 44th and Virginia is 51st so an early exit from the ACC tournament could be costly for those teams.
A Look At the Schedule
Things get underway at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday when Notre Dame meets Georgia Tech. Eight of the last 10 games between the teams went over the total. That is followed by the NCAAB matchup between North Carolina State and Louisville.
The first day of the tournament ends with a 7 p.m. ET meeting between Boston College and Miami. Keep that in mind when looking at the NCAA basketball games today. The tournament will be held at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
The second round begins at noon on Wednesday when No. 8 seed Virginia Tech plays No. 9 Florida State. No. 5 Wake Forest faces the Notre Dame-Georgia Tech winner. Seventh-seeded Syracuse meets either North Carolina State or Louisville, and then Clemson draws either Boston College or Miami.
If the seeds hold true, it could be Pittsburgh meeting North Carolina and Virginia squaring off with Duke in the semifinals. The No. 4 seed Notre Dame just won the ACC women’s tournament. Time will tell if the top seeds have better results in the men’s event.
For NCAAB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
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