ACC Tournament Betting Preview: North Carolina, Virginia, Duke Odds, Analysis

The top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels (25-6) are +185 favorites (bet $100 to win $185) on the odds to win the ACC tournament at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark, something they have not done since winning it back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008.

The Tar Heels went 14-4 in conference play this season, finishing one game ahead of the second-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (24-6) and third-seeded Miami Hurricanes (24-6), who are +220 and +450 to win the ACC tournament, respectively. The fifth-seeded Duke Blue Devils (22-9) are +425 on those college basketball betting lines.

The Cavaliers won the ACC tournament in 2014 as the top seed with a 72-63 upset of No. 3 Duke as 1.5-point underdogs. The Hurricanes won it the year before as the top seed, knocking off No. 3 North Carolina 87-77 as two-point favorites.

Last year, it was the third-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish who beat the fifth-seeded Tar Heels 90-82 as 3.5-point dogs. The Fighting Irish (20-10) earned the fourth seed this year and are +1400 to repeat as ACC tournament champs after tying the Blue Devils at 11-7

The Louisville Cardinals would be the fourth-seeded team had they been eligible for the ACC tournament, but the program issued a self-imposed postseason ban for a prostitution scandal involving recruits and players. The Cardinals own a 12-6 conference record with key wins over Duke and North Carolina.

Instead, the Fighting Irish get the coveted double bye into the quarterfinals with a potential matchup against the Blue Devils lurking there assuming they get by the winner between the 12th-seeded North Carolina State Wolfpack (15-16) and 13th-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-19), with that matchup set for Tuesday afternoon.

Two sleepers to consider in the ACC tournament who have never won it before since coming over from the Big East are the eighth-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers (20-10) and ninth-seeded Syracuse Orange (19-12).

Both teams could use a victory here to get into the NCAA tournament, and the winner of their game will play the Tar Heels in the quarters. The Panthers swept two games from the Orange during the regular season by a combined 25 points. Pitt is +1600 to win the ACC Tournament with Syracuse at +2500.