ACC Conference Weekend Preview

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 2, 2022

What is next is what promises to be an emotional farewell to retirinng Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski as each player he coached at Duke has been invited to return to Durham as Coach K coaches his final regular-season game Saturday against North Carolina.

Miami and Wake Forest also won on Wednesday as the Hurricanes and Demon Deacons appear headed to a potential ACC quarterfinal matchup as the No. 4 and 5 seeds although Miami might be able to move out of the No. 4 seed.

Duke (-125) is the heavy favorite to win the ACC tournament title.

Duke (+250) is tied for the fifth-best odds to reach the Final Four. The other top ACC teams are well back in the March Madness predictions with Wake Forest (+3000), North Carolina (+3300), Miami (+3300), Notre Dame (+4000), Clemson (+5000), Virginia (+6000) and Virginia Tech (+6600) the best of the rest.

Here’s a look at this weekend’s games in the ACC with some information for those who bet online.

Virginia Cavaliers vs Louisville Cardinals

Date, time, TV: Saturday, March 5, 12 p.m. ET ESPN2

Virginia has taken part in seven of the last eight NCAA tournaments but there’s no guarantee that the Cavaliers will make it eight for nine.

Virginia (17-12, 11-8 in the ACC) has lost three of its last four games including two when listed by the Las Vegas odds as favorites. The last two losses came by a total of five points. Virginia is 6-2 against the spread in its last eight games.

Virginia has won the last three matchups with Louisville and 12 of the last 13. The Cavaliers are 5-1-1 against the spread in the last seven while seven of the last 10 meetings went over the total. The Cavaliers topped Louisville 64-52 on January 24 as a five-point favorite at home.

Louisville (12-17, 6-13) has dropped three games in a row and 10 of its last 11. Five of the Cardinals’ last six games finished under the total.

Virginia’s Reece Beekman and Louisville’s Jarrod West are first and fourth in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio.

Boston College Eagles vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Date, time, TV: Saturday, March 5, 12 p.m. ET ACC NX

A tough regular season comes to an end for both Boston College and Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech squandered a 13-point lead in a 68-65 loss to Clemson. It was the Yellow Jackets’ fourth loss in a row but was also the fourth time in the last five games that Georgia Tech covered.

Georgia Tech (11-19, 4-15) has won the last three games against Boston College and covered in each of them including an 81-76 win as a two-point underdog according to the college basketball spreads on the road on January 12. The Yellow Jackets have won five of the last six games in the series when playing at home with all but one of those contests decided by five points or less. Four of the last six games between the teams finished over the total.

Boston College (11-18, 6-13) lost its second straight game as visiting Miami led by as many as 19 points before prevailing 81-70. It was the first time in the last five games that a Boston College game went over the total.

Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe had 15 points against Clemson after being held to seven points in the last contest. Makai Ashton-Langford had 21 points in the Eagles’ loss to Miami.

Miami Hurricanes vs Syracuse Orange

Date, time, TV: Saturday, March 5, 1 p.m. ET ESPNU

Miami has been struggling for consistency since a recent three-game winning streak as the Hurricanes have split their last four games. Wednesday’s win at Boston College gave Miami sole possession of fourth place in the ACC just a game behind Notre Dame and North Carolina.

The Hurricanes (21-9, 13-6) have covered in five of their last seven games while the last four went over the total.

Miami and Syracuse have split the last 10 games in the series. Syracuse has covered in four of the last five meetings.

The 88-87 Miami win at home on January 5 snapped a run seven straight games between the Hurricanes and Orange finishing under the total. Syracuse won the last two home games against Miami by an average of 23 points.

Syracuse (15-15, 9-10) has lost its last three games and failed to cover in each of the last four. The Orange are currently in eighth place in the ACC standings which could mean a rematch with Duke in the ACC quarterfinals. The last time those two teams played, Duke won by 25 at Syracuse. Each of the last four Syracuse games went over the total.

Miami’s Isaiah Wong is 7-of-12 from 3-point range in his last two games.

Syracuse is second in the ACC in field goals attempted and also allows the second-most field goal attempts by its opponents.

Virginia Tech Hokies vs Clemson Tigers

Date, time, TV: Saturday, March 5, 2 p.m. ET ACC NX

Virginia Tech has won the last three games against Clemson and covered in each of them. The Hokies have won two of the last three games played at Clemson with six of the last seven matchups hosted by the Tigers being decided by single digits. Five of the last six games in this series have finished under the total.

Virginia Tech (19-11, 11-8) has won three games in a row and nine of its last 10 to put the Hokies in contention for an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. Virginia Tech is 5-2 against the college basketball spreads in its last seven while six of the Hokies’ last seven contests went under the total.

It wasn’t pretty but Clemson (15-15, 7-12) did rally past Georgia Tech on Wednesday for its third win in a row. It was the third time in the last four games that a Clemson game finished under the total.

After going 6-for-22 from the field in his last five games, Clemson’s David Collins was 8-of-10 in the Georgia Tech win. He’ll be facing a Virginia Tech team that is third in the ACC in field-goal percentage defense.

North Carolina State Wolfpack vs Florida State Seminoles

Date, time, TV: Saturday, March 5, 2 p.m. ET ESPN2

Florida State has won its last four games against North Carolina State including an 83-81 road win as a three-point favorite on January 1. North Carolina State’s last win in the series came in 2018 at home. The Wolfpack hasn’t won at Florida State since 2015.

It has been a disappointing season for Florida State (16-13, 9-10) but the Seminoles posted back-to-back wins against Virginia and Notre Dame. Florida State covered in both games after failing to cover in its previous seven games.

North Carolina State (11-19, 4-15) takes a three-game losing streak into its regular-season finale after Wednesday’s 101-76 loss at Wake Forest. The Wolfpack are 1-9 against the spread in their last 10 games.

Florida State hit 12 3-pointers in the Notre Dame win.

North Carolina State freshman Terquavion has scored at least 20 points in his last four games.

Pittsburgh Panthers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Date, time, TV: Saturday, March 5, 2:30 p.m. ET ESPNews

Notre Dame ended up on the wrong side of a four-point game against Florida State and that loss won’t help the Fighting Irish as they try to secure a spot in the March Madness bracket.

Notre Dame has won six of the last seven meetings with Pittsburgh, including the last three although four of those games were decided by three points or less. Pittsburgh is 7-2-1 against the spread in the last 10 games in the series while four of the last six games between the teams went under the total.

Notre Dame (21-9, 14-5) saw its bid to win the ACC regular-season title officially come to an end with a four-point loss to Florida State. The Fighting Irish had won seven of their last eight games coming into that game and had covered in the last three outings.

Pittsburgh (11-19, 6-13) has lost three games in a row and failed to cover in each of those including losses by 30 to Duke and 21 at Miami in the Panthers’ last two games with both of those coming at home.

Freshman Blake Wesley has scored in double figures in his last eight games for Notre Dame. Pittsburgh’s John Hugley is averaging 19.6 points in his last five contests.

North Carolina Tar Heels vs Duke Blue Devils

Date, time, TV: Saturday, March 5, 6 p.m. ET ESPN

Barring a postseason meeting, this will mark the final game that Mike Krzyzewski will coach against North Carolina. The Blue Devils have won four of the last six meetings including Duke’s 87-67 win at North Carolina on February 5. The Tar Heels emerged victorious the last time these rivals met in Durham and have covered in seven of the last nine games in the series. Each of the last five games between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels went over the total.

Duke (26-4, 16-3) has won seven games in a row, the longest active streak in the ACC while three of the Blue Devils’ last four games went over the total.

Only Gonzaga, Kentucky, and Arizona have been odds to win the national championship than Duke (+1000). The other ACC teams are lagging behind in the March Madness odds as Virginia Tech (+10000) is the next ACC team listed.

North Carolina (22-8, 14-5) has won four games in a row and covered in three of those to move into a tie for second place in the ACC standings. A win against Duke would obviously be a huge boost in North Carolina’s quest to be included in the March Madness bracket.

Duke and North Carolina rank first and third in the ACC in points per game and are the top two rebounding teams in the conference.