ACC Tournament 2018: Bracket Seeds, Odds, Matchups and Predictions

Virginia has been the dominant team in the ACC's regular-season competition, sporting the league's best record by a whopping four games over second-place Duke.

While it looks like the Cavaliers will roll in the ACC Tournament, an upset winner is not out of the question in the tournament, which starts on Tuesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett seems to have a more complete team than he has had in past years. The Cavaliers have been known as a powerful and consistent defensive team for years, but they are a better offensive team this year.

Although Virginia is not likely to light up the scoreboard, Bennett's charges have the ability to come through with big plays in the clutch, and the team has learned how to score when the pressure is on.

Here's a look at the full tournament bracket, per the Atlantic Coast Conference's website, along with the television schedule. (All times are Eastern.)

Tuesday, March 6

First round

No. 12 Boston College vs. No. 13 Georgia Tech (ESPN2/ACC Network), noon.

No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 15 Pittsburgh (ESPN2/ACC Network), 2 p.m.

No. 11 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Wake Forest (ESPNU/ACC Network), 7 p.m.

Wednesday, March 7

Second round

No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 9 Louisville (ESPN/ACC Network), noon.

No. 5 NC State vs. Tuesday noon winner (ESPN/ACC Network), 2 p.m.

No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. Tuesday 2 p.m. winner (ESPN2/ACC Network), 7 p.m.

No. 6 North Carolina vs. Tuesday 7 p.m. winner (ESPN2/ACC Network), 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 8

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Virginia vs. Wednesday noon winner (ESPN/ACC Network), noon.

No. 4 Clemson vs. Wednesday 2 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network), 2 p.m.

No. 2 Duke vs. Wednesday 7 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network), 7 p.m.

No. 3 Miami vs. Wednesday 9 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network), 9 p.m.

Friday, March 9

Semifinals

Thursday afternoon winners (ESPN or ESPN2/ACC Network), 7 p.m.

Thursday evening winners (ESPN or ESPN2/ACC Network), 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 10

Championship

Friday evening winners (ESPN/ACC Network), 8:30 p.m.

Steve Helber/Associated Press

Virginia is the clear favorite to win the tournament, with odds of plus-250, according to OddsShark. A bettor who wagers $100 on Virginia would earn a profit of $250 if the Cavaliers are successful.

North Carolina, the sixth seed in the tournament, is the second choice among bettors at plus-600, followed by Duke at plus-800, Miami at at plus-1000.

Here's a look at the odds for each of the 15 teams in the tournament, per OddsShark. 

While it seems that this tournament should belong to Virginia or runner-up Duke, there are several lower-seeded teams that could come up with surprise runs.

Defending NCAA champion North Carolina is among those teams. So are North Carolina State and Notre Dame.

The Tar Heels suffered a painful 74-64 loss to archrival Duke on Saturday after leading by 10 points at halftime. 

North Carolina has had problems on the defensive side of the court throughout the season, and it allowed 54.8 percent shooting in a previous loss to Miami.

The losses to the Blue Devils and Hurricanes should fuel the Tar Heels' anger. Combine that with the talent level that Roy Williams has on hand, and North Carolina is clearly a dangerous team.

Joel Berry II and Luke Maye are leading the way for the Tar Heels, averaging 17.8 and 17.7 points, respectively. Maye is also averaging 10.1 rebounds per game.

The Tar Heels open their ACC Tournament competition Wednesday against the winner of the Boston College-Georgia Tech game. If North Carolina can rediscover its defense in that game, it will get to take on Miami in its second game. The Tar Heels would have an excellent chance of pulling out a win in that game.

North Carolina State is the No. 5 seed in the tournament, and the Wolfpack have had some excellent moments this season. North Carolina State has victories over Duke, North Carolina, Clemson, Florida State and Louisville this season, and head coach Kevin Keatts has a team that is bold and will often play fearless basketball.

North Carolina State is led by freshman guard Allerik Freeman, who is averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game. Freeman runs hot and cold, and his 36.7 shooting percentage is troubling.

Junior guard Torin Dorn is averaging 13.8 ppg, and his 53.5 percent shooting makes him a major asset. Sophomore center Omer Yurtseven is averaging 13.6 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds per game.

Don't discount 10th-seeded Notre Dame, even though the Fighting Irish finished in the lower half of the conference.

Notre Dame was riddled by injuries this year, and head coach Mike Brey attempted to keep the team afloat even though he didn't have many of the players he was counting on at the start of the season. Bonzie Colson is healthy once again, and he could help Notre Dame come up with a nice run in the tournament.

Colson has played in 16 games to this point in the season and he is averaging 20.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Colson can take over any game when he is at his best. 

Senior guard Matt Farrell is averaging 16.8 points per night, and he is not afraid to take the clutch shot when he has the opportunity.

Notre Dame opens with Pittsburgh, and if the Irish win that game, they will face Virginia Tech. The Fighting Irish are fully capable of winning at least two games in the ACC tournament.

Prediction

While upsets are always possible along the way in the ACC Tournament, Virginia was the class of the league from start to finish, and Bennett's team is not about to lose concentration at this point.

Look for Virginia to get to the ACC championship game. 

Duke and North Carolina will meet in the semifinal round, and this time the Tar Heels will not let a lead slip away. The Tar Heels will build on their advantage and will win by double digits.

North Carolina will have momentum going into the title game, but that won't be enough to get past Virginia. The Cavaliers add the conference tournament title to their regular-season crown.