No. 1 Seed Duke Blue Devils Top ACC School On NCAA Tournament Odds
After being anointed the top seed in the South Region, the Duke Blue Devils will make their 20th straight March Madness appearance sitting at strong 9-1 odds to win the NCAA Tournament at the online sportsbooks.
The Blue Devils lead all ACC teams on the March Madness odds despite their second-place regular season finish in the ACC standings and early exit from their conference tournament this past weekend.
Duke’s disappointing 74-64 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the ACC Tournament semifinals — while pegged as heavy 8.5-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com — ended their 12-game straight-up and four-game against-the-spread win streaks.
The No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers, who claimed the ACC regular season title with a 16-2 record, closely trail Duke with 10-1 odds to win the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers see their first tournament action in the South Region on Friday afternoon when they face the Belmont Bruins as early 16.5-point favorites.
The Cavs struggled down the stretch, losing two of their last three outright, including a 71-67 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament semifinals, and are just 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 games.
The ACC Tournament champion Fighting Irish follow at 25-1 on the March Madness odds. No. 3 Notre Dame opens the NCAA Tournament as 12.5-point favorites in their Round of 64 Midwest Region matchup with the No. 14 Northeastern Huskies.
The Irish enter the tourney as one of the nation’s hottest teams, going 8-1 SU in their last nine games, 7-2 ATS, including three outright wins as betting underdogs.
The No. 4 Tar Heels begin March Madness action at 40-1 odds, well back of the 12-1 odds they sported at the start of the season. UNC is a middling 7-7 SU in their last 14, 8-6 ATS, but enjoyed a strong ACC Tournament despite dropping a 90-82 decision to Notre Dame in the title game.
The No. 4 Louisville Cardinals enter March Madness with distant 66-1 odds after posting SU losses in two of their last three games. The Cards are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight, but open as 8.5-point favorites in their Round of 64 matchup with No. 13 UC Irvine.
The No. 8 North Carolina State Wolfpack return to March Madness trailing at 200-1 at the online sportsbooks to win the Big Dance, but will take the court on Thursday night as two-point favorites in their Round of 64 meeting with No. 9 LSU.
Thumbnail photo via Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports Images
