College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Preview - Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) 

The countdown to the NCAA Tournament is less than 10 days away, and Selection Sunday is March 15. In the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Duke is the top team and will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament regardless of their ACC tournament result. A total of eight teams from the ACC are projected into the NCAA Tournament bracket by Joe Lunardi at ESPN. I chip in an ACC Tournament betting guide with odds, stats, select picks and information you can bet on at Off Shore Gaming Association. 

Some of the small conference tourney's have seen teams punch their ticket to the Big Dance, but many top seeds have already failed to win their conference tournaments for the only NCAA Tournament bid. That includes in the Missouri Valley where No. 6 seed Northern Iowa won four games in four days to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. Two more small conferences will be decided in Las Vegas this week from the WAC and Big West. Also in Las Vegas, the Mountain West Conference may only have one team in the NCAA Tournament unless regular season champion Utah State fails to win the conference tournament. The West Coast Conference semi's and finals are March 10-11, and looking more like three teams will make the Big Dance. 

The Big 12, Big East and ACC tournaments will be most watched and wagered events at the top online sportsbooks, along with the Big Ten and SEC, which are expected to send 20 teams to the NCAA Tournament from those two conferences alone. 

The Betting Scene

Check out the Betting Scene and more college basketball March Madness contests and offers from the top online sportsbooks. Following the men's college basketball conference tournaments, the media coverage really ramps up for the madness of the NCAA Tournament. March Madness is one of the most exciting times in American Sports, and the betting interest in March Madness reaches it's peak with billions of dollars wagered worldwide at online sportsbooks. But the college basketball conference tournaments offer even more, and often better betting opportunities as a majority of teams, especially in the smaller conferences, play for a chance to realize their dream of playing in the NCAA Tournament. 

Which ACC teams project as national champion contenders? This season's three elite teams will be NCAA Tournament top seeds with Duke (29-2), Michigan (29-2) and Arizona (29-2) winning the regular season titles in the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12. Duke also beat Michigan on Feb. 21. Connecticut (27-4) lost their final regular season game to come up a game short of winning the Big East, and will fall to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. SEC champion and defending national champion Florida (25-6) is now projected as the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

All four of the projected No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament are also top defensive teams. They also fit a proven stat profile of a national champion. Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Florida all rank top 20 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency ratings by KenPom. All four teams are currently top 10 in both those categories. Houston from the Big 12 is the only other team currently in the top 20 in both categories. Why is that notable? Because 22 of the last 23 national champions have finished in the Top 20 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. Those stats rankings will adjust through each game of the conference tournaments. 

So as you craft your bets ahead of March Madness, know too that the money bet offshore on March Madness is 3-4 times greater than the billions of dollars generated from betting on the NCAA Tournament at U.S. sportsbooks. So, there are still many benefits to wagering offshore, and Off Shore Gaming Association provides benefits for players to get more out of their online gambling experience. Especially fans and bettors in the three most populous states that still do not offer wagering options with U.S. sportsbooks - California, Texas and Florida. Neither does Georgia, Alabama or South Carolina for SEC faithful fans, or Minnesota and Wisconsin (Tribal casinos only) for Gophers and Badgers Big Ten fans. 

All odds provided by BetOnline, a top online sportsbook and the largest gaming company in Panama. 

Atlantic Coast Conference

Odds to win the ACC Tournament from BetOnline and leading reduced juice sportsbooks refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting. 

Listed in the table is each teams overall and conference records in conference tournament seed order, and offensive and defensive efficiency (OE, DE) ratings from KenPom. Also, the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) is a key advanced metric that measures a team's or player's efficiency, calculated as the difference between their Offensive Rating (points scored per 100 possessions) and Defensive Rating (points allowed per 100 possessions). It shows how much better or worse a team performs compared to opponents. 

Notre Dame, Boston College and Georgia Tech did not qualify for the conference tournament. 

ACC Stats, Trends and Notes 

Duke is No. 1 in the country in NET rating and went 15-2 vs. Quad 1 teams this season including the big win over Michigan from the Big Ten in February. The Blue Devils two losses were at North Carolina by 3 points and a 1-point loss to Texas Tech from the Big 12 days before Christmas. Duke has won two of the last three ACC Tournament titles including last year's championship game win over Louisville. The Cardinals are capable as the No. 6 seed, and will make the NCAA Tournament also as a 6-7 seed. Perhaps a notch higher if they can win the ACC Tournament, which will require the return of 5-star freshman guard and future NBA lottery pick Mikel Brown, Jr. 

Duke has a No. 5 adjusted efficiency rating and No. 6 in the country in 2-point shooting (61%). The Blue Devils dominant defense and pressure forces very long possessions and Duke ranks No. 1 in defensive efficiency rating at KenPom with ACC Defensive Player of the Year, senior Maliq Brown. Jon Scheyer is ACC Coach of the Year, and Duke freshman Cameron Boozer is already an All-American and was just named ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, averaging 22.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. Boozer joins a historic All-ACC first team of four freshman, North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson (19.8 ppg., 9.4 rpg), Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie (ACC-best 23.1 ppg, 3.6 apg) and Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder (15.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Senior forward Malik Reneau (19 ppg, 6.6 rpg) of Miami rounds out the first team as players to watch with Hurricanes teammates guard Tre Donaldson second team and center Ernest Udeh Jr. on the All-Defensive team.

Louisville senior transfer guard Ryan Conwell (18.7 ppg) is a second team All-ACC player while Cardinals 5-star freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. is third team All-ACC (18.2 ppg, 4.7 apr) and led the second-most efficient offense in the ACC despite missing 10 games, including the last two with a nagging back injury (check status). The Cardinals are a capable darkhorse, but the online sportsbooks recognize that with Louisville having the third lowest odds to win the ACC Tournament despite being a No. 6 seed. 

In conference games only this season, here are the stats leaders:

- Scoring offense: Louisville (82.3), Duke (80.9), SMU (80.6), NC State (80.1). 
- FG% offense: Duke (49.4), Miami (49.2), SMU (48.4%), NC (47.1%), Louisville (46.6%), Syracuse (46.5%), Clemson (45.9%), NC State (45.0%).
- 3-point offense: SMU (40.3%), NC State (37.2%), SMU (36.2%), Duke (35.5%). Louisville (577) and Virginia (546) took the most 3-point shots in ACC play, making 11.6 and 10.1 long 3-point shots per game.    
- Scoring defense: Duke (62.4), Clemson (66.6), Virginia (69.6), Miami (72.9). 
- FG% defense: Virginia (39.7%), Duke (40.8%), Clemson (43.0%), FSU (44.4%), Cal (44.5%).
- 3-point defense: Virginia (30.0), Cal (30.6%), Virginia Tech (31.0%), Duke (32.3%). 
- Rebounding margin: Duke (+10.3), Miami (+7.4), Virginia (+6.6) and Louisville (+4.3) led the ACC.  
- Virginia led the league in blocked shots. NC State and Duke topped the ACC in steals at more than 8 per game and turnover margin (+3.39 and +2.39). Virginia, Duke and Louisville led the league in assists with more than 16 per game.

Duke was the most dominant team winning ACC games by an average of 18.6 points per game. Virginia (+7.7) and Louisville (+6.9) were next. 

Since 2015, Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) notes: 

- ACC Tournament favorites or -5.5 or more are 61-8 SU and 40-28-1 ATS (58.8%).
- ACC teams off a bye and playing as favorites of 4 points or more against teams that have already played in the tournament are 43-4 SU and 28-18-1 ATS (60.9%).
- ACC opening round favorites have gone 23-4 SU and 16-11 ATS (59.3%) since 2016.
- ACC second round favorites are on a 25-11 SU and 22-14 ATS (61.1%) surge over the last nine tournaments, including 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS last year.
- ACC semifinal underdogs are 14-21 SU but 25-7-3 ATS (78.1%) since 2007, and 12-2-1 ATS since 2017 including 2-0 ATS last year. 

ACC Conference Tournament Schedule 

March 10-14, Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
First and Second Round: March 10-11
Quaterfinals: March 12
Semifinals: March 13
Finals: March 14 - 8:30pm ET on ESPN 

Matchups and Odds 

Tues., March 10 

- Game 1: No. 10 Stanford (-5) vs. No. 15 Pittsburgh 
- Game 2: No. 11 SMU (-4') vs. No. 14 Syracuse
- Game 3: No. 12 Virginia Tech (-2') vs. No. 13 Wake Forest 

Wed., March 11

- Game 4: No. 7 NC State vs. Game 1 winner
- Game 5: No. 6 Louisville vs. Game 2 winner
- Game 6: No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 9 Cal
- Game 7: No. 5 Clemson vs. Game 3 winner 

Thur., March 12 (Quarterfinals)

- No. 2 Virginia vs. Game 4 winner 
- No. 3 Miami vs. Game 5 winner
- No. 1 Duke vs. Game 6 winner
- No. 4 North Carolina vs. Game 7 winner  

Fri., March 13 (Semifinals) 

Sat., March 14 - (Championship) 

Check back daily for college basketball and conference tournament updates including matchups, odds, stats and select picks with information you can bet on. 

FairwayJay is a leading sports betting industry analyst, handicapper, content creator, writer, reporter and poker player. He's been covering major sports from a betting perspective for more than two decades from Las Vegas. FairwayJay is also on the scene for major sports and poker events plus industry conferences as a credentialed media member. Follow @FairwayJay on X and OSGA for more betting insight and information you can bet on.