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ACC Games to Bet: Duke, North Carolina Tied Atop Standings
Road teams went 3-0 in the ACC on Wednesday with Notre Dame picking up its second road win and 2023 Final Four team Miami being a no-show against visiting Duke. Duke is tied with rival North Carolina atop the ACC standings.
The top four teams in the ACC are a combined 52-4 at home so keep that in mind when it comes to making NCAA basketball picks.
The North Carolina-Virginia matchup might be the best of seven ACC games scheduled for Saturday. It is one of five games between teams with winning records.
Wake Forest is the only ACC team still undefeated at home. Duke, North Carolina, Clemson, and Pittsburgh all have winning road records.
North Carolina fell four spots to No. 10 in The Associated Press poll and went from fifth to ninth in the USA Today coaches poll. Duke is seventh in the coaches poll and eighth in the AP rankings. No other ACC teams are in the top 25 in the two national polls.
North Carolina is 10th and Duke is 12th in the NCAA NET rankings, one of the tools used to select and seed the NCAA Tournament. No. 26 Clemson and No. 27 Wake Forest are the only other ACC teams in the top 30.
When looking at the odds of winning March Madness, North Carolina is tied for sixth at +1800 and has the best odds of winning the NCAAM championship among ACC teams. Duke is next among ACC squads at +2500.
Here’s a look at three ACC games to watch this weekend.
1. Duke (21-5, 15-10-1 ATS) vs Wake Forest (17-9, 14-11-1 ATS)
- Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m. ET
- Live Stream: ESPN
Four starters scored in double figures and Duke held a veteran Miami team to 31% shooting in its emphatic road win on Wednesday to move into a tie for the ACC lead.
.@DukeMBB grabbed its largest margin of victory in a conference game this season Wednesday night against Miami. And while the offense was rolling, greater kudos should go to the defensive effort:https://t.co/f3BjPYIRFi
— Duke Basketball (@dukebasketball) February 22, 2024
Jeremy Roach is 8-of-16 from 3-point range over his last three games for the Blue Devils.
Wake Forest is coming off a 33-point win over Pittsburgh to remain undefeated at home. After scoring a total of 12 points in his previous two games, sophomore Kevin Miller had 18 points in the victory.
Duke has won six of the last seven meetings with Wake Forest. The lone win came the last time the Blue Devils played at Wake Forest with the Demon Deacons winning 81-70 as a 6.5-point home underdog.
Wake Forest has covered in three of the last four matchups with Duke. Six of the last nine games in the series went over the total.
Wake Forest has struggled to cover on the but no ACC team has a better ATS mark at home than the Demon Deacon’s 10-3-1 record. Duke is 4-4-1 ATS on the road.
2. North Carolina (20-6 SU, 15-11 ATS) vs Virginia (20-7 SU, 14-12-1 ATS)
- Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 24, 4 p.m. ET
- Live Stream: TBS.com
Even though Virginia’s stay in the Top 25 in the national polls was brief, this still has the chance to be the best of Saturday’s games in the ACC with Virginia 1.5 games behind first-place in the ACC standings.
It is an interesting contrast of styles with North Carolina leading the ACC in scoring offense while guard R.J. Davis is the top scorer in the conference. Virginia tops the ACC in scoring defense.
North Carolina bounced back from a road loss at Syracuse by cruising past Virginia Tech as Armando Bacot and RJ Davis combined for 45 points and Harrison Ingram added 12 points to go with 17 rebounds.
Against that same Virginia Tech team, the Cavaliers led for all of 10 seconds in a 34-point loss.
Since Virginia won seven games in a row in the series, the home team has won the last five meetings. Five of the last six games between the Cavaliers and the Tar Heels went under the total.
Virginia has won nine home games in a row against North Carolina with the Tar Heels’ last win in Charlottesville coming in 2015.
Virginia is second among ACC teams with a 9-5-1 record against the Las Vegas odds at home. North Carolina has covered in five of its eight road games.
3. Virginia Tech (15-11 SU, 12-14 ATS) vs Pittsburgh (17-9 SU, 15-9-2 ATS)
- Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 24, 5:30 p.m.ET
- Live Stream: CW Network
Virginia Tech got 30 bench points in a recent win over Virginia while starters Robbie Beran and Lynn Kidd were a combined 9-for-9 from the field.
Pittsburgh had won five games in a row before being blown out at Wake Forest. Ben Hinson averaged 23.6 points per game during the winning streak.
Virginia Tech has won three games in a row against Pittsburgh including a 76-71 road win in 2022. The Panthers did cover in that game as the 7-point home underdog.
The Panthers dropped three of the last four road matchups versus Virginia Tech.
Five of the last eight meetings between the Panthers and the Hokies finished over the total.
Pittsburgh is 8-6-1 against the spread at home compared to Virginia Tech’s 1-7 mark against the spread on the road.
Questions Of The Day
Which ACC team has the best record against the spread?
Pittsburgh is 15-9-2 against the Las Vegas odds. In conference play, Florida State, North Carolina, and Notre Dame are all 9-6 against the spread.
Which team has the longest active winning streak in the ACC?
Duke has won five games in a row with Notre Dame, winners of three straight, the only other ACC team to win more than one consecutive game heading into the weekend.
