ACC Basketball Tournament: Schedule, Odds, Predictions

When the calendar flips to March, and NCAA conference basketball tournaments get started, few American locations feel as energized and frenzied as ACC country. 

This week’s ACC Tournament features a classic conference scenario. Duke and North Carolina are atop the conference, with other traditional regional powers like Virginia and Pittsburgh looking to play spoiler from the middle of the table. 

The BetMGM online sportsbook has college basketball odds governing tournament futures and single-game matchups. 

ACC Tournament Schedule

The ACC basketball tournament runs March 12-16 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. 

• Game 1: No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 13 Georgia Tech (March 12)
• Game 2: No. 10 N.C. State vs. No. 15 Louisville (March 12)
• Game 3: No. 11 Boston College vs. No. 14 Miami (March 12)
• Game 4: No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 Florida State (March 13)
• Game 5: No. 5 Wake Forest vs. Game 1 Winner (March 13)
• Game 6: No. 7 Syracuse vs. Game 2 Winner (March 13)
• Game 7: No. 6 Clemson vs. Game 3 Winner (March 13)
• Game 8: No. 1 North Carolina vs. Game 4 Winner (March 14)
• Game 9: No. 4 Pittsburgh vs. Game 5 Winner (March 14)
• Game 10: No. 2 Duke vs. Game 6 Winner (March 14)
• Game 11: No. 3 Virginia vs. Game 7 Winner (March 14)
• Game 12: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner (March 15)
• Game 13: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner (March 15)
• Game 14: Game 12 Winner vs. Game 13 Winner (March 16)

ACC Tournament Odds

ACC Tournament Prediction

Duke (+190) will win the ACC basketball tournament and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Duke won this tournament last year, and I think it’s interesting that the Blue Devils are a nominal favorite over UNC despite the fact that the Tar Heels swept Duke during the regular season. The second game of the series was just played on Saturday.

You would think such a scenario would mark UNC – the regular-season champion and clear head-to-head winner over No. 2 Duke – as the favorite. The fact that it hasn’t is telling. 

Here are a couple of other notes to keep in mind:

Tobacco Row or GTFO

In recent years, as Duke and North Carolina have had more variable seasons from year to year, college basketball fans have seen other ACC programs jump up and grab the automatic bid during ACC Tournament week. 

In 2021, it was No. 4 seed Georgia Tech. A year later, it was No. 7 seed Virginia Tech.

I don’t see that happening this year. The ACC is enduring a very top-heavy year where Duke and North Carolina are top 10 squads and no one else in the conference looks anywhere near their level.

The 2024 ACC is probably not a market to get crazy with your championship bets. Pick a side: Tar Heels or Blue Devils. It’s probably going to be one of them holding the trophy in the end.

Can Virginia Hold Its Ground?

The Cavaliers’ offense has been brutal over the final few weeks of the season, and Virginia’s tournament resume has suffered as a result. 

After a long winning streak that stretched for nearly a month from mid-January to mid-February, the Cavs went 3-4 down the stretch with only one win over a top 80 KenPom opponent. 

Virginia is likely to end up on the right side of the bubble at this point, but its performance in the ACC Tournament this week could heavily influence where it ends up in the field of 68. Maybe it’ll be a No. 10 seed with a manageable path; maybe it’ll need to summon enough offense to beat a tough mid-major in the First Four. 

Wake Forest, Pittsburgh Have Work To Do

In my recent March Madness predictions piece, I wrote about how I think the ACC will be limited to four teams in the NCAA Tournament field, but that won’t necessarily be a bad thing for its overall conference performance.

That prediction essentially relies on both Wake Forest and Pittsburgh being left out of the field. They’re currently projected on the wrong side of the bubble. (For more on this, you can read my Wake Forest tournament resume here and my Pittsburgh tournament profile here.)

To say the obvious, nothing is a fixed result just yet, and both teams could play their way into the field with a deep run this week. 

That said, it seems unlikely that both get in, and Wake Forest finished the season on a lousy 1-3 streak with losses to sub-100 Notre Dame and sub-100 Georgia Tech. I guess I’d bet on Pittsburgh to do it if I had to pick one, but I don’t like either team’s chances – especially once bid steals start squeezing the bubble even more than it already is.

Conference Tournament Previews & Predictions