College Basketball Odds: Duke, Virginia Pegged As Favorites In ACC Tournament

The Virginia Cavaliers will be looking to become the first team to repeat as ACC Tournament champions since 2011 when they hit the court later this week for this year’s event as +125 favorites on the ACC Tournament odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Virginia closed out its regular-season schedule with an eight-game straight-up win streak to claim a share of top spot in the ACC standings and the No. 1 seed in the tournament, and now awaits the winner of Wednesday’s North Carolina State vs. Clemson matchup at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Their recent strong play also has lifted them to No. 2 in the AP Top 25, but the Cavaliers are expected to face a stiff challenge from the Duke Blue Devils, who closely trail as a +150 wager to claim their second ACC Tournament crown in three years.

The Blue Devils handed Virginia their only two SU losses in conference play this season, and remain perched as +210 favorites on the March Madness betting odds. However, Duke has struggled with adversity in recent weeks since losing star freshman Zion Williamson to injury, falling to defeat in three of six contests including a disappointing 79-70 loss to North Carolina as a 4.5-point underdog last weekend in the final outing on its regular-season schedule.

The Tar Heels round out the top of the ACC Tournament odds as a +350 wager, well ahead of the Virginia Tech Hokies at +1200, and the Florida State Seminoles at +1600.

UNC’s schedule-closing victory over the Blue Devils marked their seventh straight outright win and clinched the second seed in the tournament for the school. The Tar Heels also have reached the tournament final in three of the past four years, but dropped a 69-61 decision to the Cavaliers as 1-point home chalk in one of only two losses in conference play this season.

The Hokies struggled with consistency down the stretch, going 5-4 SU in their final nine outings including losses to the Cavaliers and Florida State, and never have appeared in an ACC Tournament final. Conversely, the Seminoles quickly overcame a slow start in conference play to go 12-1 SU down the stretch, but have emerged as a betting disappointment in recent outings, covering just once in their past five outings according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database.

Tournament action gets underway Tuesday as the No. 12 Miami Hurricanes take on the No. 13 Wake Forest Demon Deacons as 7-point chalk. As well, No. 15 Notre Dame battles No. 10 Georgia Tech as 1.5-point favorites and the No. 14 Pittsburgh Panthers are favored by one point in their clash with No. 11 Boston College