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

The countdown to the NCAA Tournament is less than two weeks away, and Selection Sunday is March 16. The small conference tourney's have started to finish with some teams punching their ticket to the Big Dance, and the West Coast Conference champion decided March 11 along with the Coastal Athletic Conference winner. But the power conferences will crown their winners this week with many at-large teams completing the March Madness brackets. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament tips off Tuesday, March 11, and No. 1 seed Duke will begin play in Thursday's quarterfinals along with Clemson, Louisville and Wake Forest.

It's wall-to-wall basketball every day this week with conference tournament engaging action providing many of the most exciting games as the memorable moments build into March Madness and the most live bet games of the season as the media coverage ramps up for the the NCAA Tournament. 

Follow the Big 12 and Big Ten tournaments and teams along with the SEC as those CCT's also provide the most watched and wagered games this week ahead of March Madness. The top seeds Houston, Michigan State and Auburn lead a number of teams that will make the NCAA Tournament with top teams odds and stats to review as you craft your bets ahead of March Madness. 

While the college basketball conference tournament and March Madness generate billions of dollars wagered, the money bet offshore is 3-4 times that amount. 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 Missouri, with the Show Me State pushing hard to change that yet this year. 

Bet on NCAA Basketball at one of these Elite-rated sportsbooks!

Check back as I update stats, content and coverage including select matchups, odds and any picks. 

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 online sportsbooks refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting. Each teams offensive and defensive efficiency ratings from KenPom.

Duke (19-1), Louisville (18-2) and Clemson (18-2) are the top 3 seeds and that trio really separated themselves from the rest of the conference teams this season. Those three are all in the NCAA Tournament, and Duke is one of just four teams in the country that ranks top-20 in KenPom's offensive and defensive efficiency ratings - a metic that has produced 21 of the last 22 NCAA Tournament winners. North Carolina and Wake Forest, who both went 13-7 in conference play, are on the outside looking in with less than a 40% chance to make the Big Dance, according to ESPN's Bracketology. Wake Forest did secure the No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament, so the Demon Deacons will have a buy with the top 3 teams into the Thursday, March 13 quarterfinals with all the watch and wager action starting Wednesday on ESPN and ESPN2. 

But teams with the most to play for are those that often had disappointing regular seasons or failed to meet expectations. If could have been due to more injuries, but regardless, those teams are more desperate and often play with more relentless passion and energy. See North Carolina State's run to the ACC title last year, and the Wolfpack were an afterthought while also entering the conference tournament with four straight losses. NC State went on an even greater improbable run in the NCAA Tournament to make the Final Four. Yet just one year later, NC State fired head coach Kevin Keatts on Sunday. 

Conference tournament underdogs should be more appealing overall, and these tournaments are not a good time to be parlaying favorites. 

ACC Stats, Trends and Notes 

The value of having a bye in conference tournaments is typically significant, especially when they are believed to be the better team. In fact, heading into the 2025 action, VSiN research notes that conference tournament favorites off a bye are 312-106 SU and 219-191 ATS (53.4%) over the last five seasons against teams that played earlier in that tournament. 

- Big favorites of 5.5 points or more are 53-8 SU & 36-24-1 ATS (60%) since 2015.
- ACC teams off a bye and playing as favorites of 4 points or more against teams that have already played in the tournament are 37-4 SU and 26-14-1 ATS (65%) since 2015.
- ACC opening round favorites have gone 22-2 SU and 15-9 ATS (62.5%) since 2016.
- ACC second-round favorites are on a 21-11 SU and 19-13 ATS (59.4%) surge over the last eight tournaments but did go 1-3 SU and ATS last year. 
- ACC semifinal underdogs are 13-20 SU but 23-7-3 ATS (76.7%) since 2007, and 10-2-1 ATS since 2017. Both won ATS a year ago. 
- Playbook notes that underdogs are 29-12-4 ATS in the semis of the ACC Tourney since 1998,  including 12-2-2 ATS since 2007 when coming off a win of 7-plus points. 

Duke (28-3) is 24-1 since Thanksgiving and leads the nation in score margin (+22.1), ranking in the Top 10 in Scoring Offense and Scoring Defense. The Blue Devils are also a top defensive team ranking top-5 in Kempom's adjusted efficiency ratings while going 7-3 vs. Quad 1 opponents with early season losses to Kentucky and Kansas on neutral courts. Clemson (26-5) finished the season on a 9-0 and 14-1 run (12-3 ATS) with only a home loss in OT to GT before bouncing back to beat Duke at home. Louisville (25-6) went 18-2 SU and 14-6 ATS in conference play, but lost to Duke by 11 points in early Dec., beat Clemson at home by 10 a month later and also lost badly to Tennessee to start the season. North Carolina (20-12/13-7 ACC) started the season ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 poll, but the Tar Heels are given just a 39% chance to make the NCAA Tournament field after losing to Duke at home in the regular season finale, according to Bracketology. SMU (22-9/13-7) is 0-4 vs. Quad 1 opponents this season, and those four losses are to the ACC teams mentioned above.  

ACC Tournament Schedule 

The ACC tournament is held at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. The North Carolina State Wolfpack won 5 games in 5 days last year to win the ACC Tournament as a No. 5 seed, and the Wolfpack parlayed that result into a run to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament.

First Round: March 11
Second Round: March 12
Quarterfinals: March 13
Semifinals: March 14
Championship: 8:30 p.m. March 15

Matchups and Odds 

Tuesday, March 11 

- No. 13 Pittsburgh (-4) vs. No. 12 Notre Dame, 137.5
- No. 15 California (-3) vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech, 140
- No. 14 Syracuse vs. No. 11 Florida State (-3), 152 

Wed., March 12 

- No. 9 Viginia vs. No. 8 Geogia Tech (-1), 130.5
- Notre Dame vs. No. 5 North Carolina (-8.5), 149.5
- Cal vs. Stanford (-5.5), 142.5
- Syracuse vs. SMU (-8.5), 152 

Thurs., March 13 

- No. 8 Georgia Tech vs. No. 1 Duke (-22.5), 142.5 
- No. 5 North Carolina (-5) vs. No. 4 Wake Forest, 148.5
- Stanford vs. No. 2 Louisville (-10.5), 144
- SMU vs. No. 3 Clemson (-7.5), 142.5 

Friday, March 14

- No. 5 North Carolina vs. No. 1 Duke (-7.5), 155.5
- No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 3 Clemson (-1.5), 141.5

Sat., March 15

- No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 1 Doke (-6), 146

Select matchups and game odds with any additional stats and information you can bet on provided as able as the conference tournaments progress. 

Follow along and check out more college basketball conference tournament betting odds and futures at BetOnline.ag. 

You can bet on it. 

FairwayJay is a proven sports handicapper and insightful analyst. He chips college basketball and additional sports betting coverage and reporting on industry news and events. Read more great insights from FairwayJay and follow him on  X: @FairwayJay