ACC March Madness Prediction and Odds: Who Joins Duke in NCAAs?

· Feb 10 - 5 minutes read

Duke is still a top contender in the odds of winning March Madness.
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OK, Duke is not going to roll through the ACC portion of its schedule after losing on the road to Clemson on Saturday. Clemson looks to take down another college basketball Blue Blood when listed by the BetUS sportsbook as a 5.5 point favorite versus visiting North Carolina in a Monday night game airing on ESPN.

ACC NCAA Tournament Prediction and Odds: Who’s Joining Duke? — Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils | Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images/AFP

Duke remained tied with Auburn at +450 for the shortest odds of winning March Madness. No other ACC teams are in the top 15 in the NCAAB championship odds.

With the calendar turning from January to February, BetUS will deliver a weekly update of where ACC teams stand in the March Madness pecking order.

Duke (-480) leads the way in the odds of winning the ACC title followed by North Carolina (+900), Clemson (+1000) and Pittsburgh (+1000).

ACC March Madness Analysis: Best Bets to Bubble Teams

Duke Leads Contenders

Duke is still sitting second in the NCAA NET rankings, one of the tools that the NCAA selection committee uses when it comes to seeding teams in the March Madness bracket.

Duke is 5-3 in Quad 1 games with no losses against Quad 2, Quad 3 and Quad 4 teams so that will prove beneficial when the March Madness matchups are finalized.

The Blue Devils have just one regular-season game remaining against a ranked opponent and that comes in a non-conference clash with Illinois.

Freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel have been delivering in the college basketball player props for the ACC leaders.

The ACC can’t be limited to one team in the March Madness bracket? Right?

Louisville is 28th and Clemson is 30th in the NCAA NET rankings. The Cardinals and Tigers are tied for second in the ACC standings, just a game in back of Duke.

Louisville’s best win this season is likely the one against Ole Miss. The win vs Indiana in the Battle 4 Atlantis looked to be a victory that could help the Cardinals come NCAA Tournament time. That is no longer the case.

The Hunter Brother Connection 👏3⃣😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/kKmMLbC57R

— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) February 9, 2025

Clemson jumped up three spots in the NCAA NET rankings after the Duke win. One concern is that Clemson has three losses to either Quad 2 or Quad 3 teams.

Both Louisville and Clemson want to avoid being viewed as bubble teams by finishing strong in the regular season.

ACC Teams in the NCAA Tournament Mix

Wake Forest is showing up in the Field of 68 in recent bracketology projections despite having just one Quad 1 win and being 59th in the NCAA NET rankings. The Demon Deacons are 10-3 in conference play. There will be a game against Duke in March that could help or hurt Wake Forest’s March Madness odds.

Cali, it’s been real ✌️#GoDeacs 🎩🏀 pic.twitter.com/juep0aLvCi

— Wake Forest Men’s Basketball (@WakeMBB) February 9, 2025

SMU made quite the splash during the football season in its first season in the ACC. The basketball team is 18-5 this season. However, a 0-4 mark in Quad 1 games is not ideal. The Mustangs only have two games left against teams ahead of them in the ACC standings.

North Carolina, 46th in the NCAA NET rankings, began the season tied for seventh in the March Madness odds. That is not the case any longer.

The Tar Heels are 1-9 in Quad 1 games this season and that is not the winning edge. A 1-5 mark versus ranked teams, per NCAAB betting trends, won’t help North Carolina when it comes to selecting the NCAA Tournament bracket.

Pittsburgh is the only other ACC team in the top 50 in the NCAA NET rankings. The Panthers have many of the issues that North Carolina is facing with a record of 1-7 versus Quad 1 opponents. Pittsburgh is just 5-7 in conference play.

Bubble Watch: Some Work to Do for March Madness

If the tournament began right now, Duke would be the only ACC team that could be considered a lock to make it into the March Madness bracket. Perhaps there will be four or five ACC teams in the field of 68.

Other than the teams mentioned above, it might take a team making college basketball news by winning the ACC tournament to make it into the NCAA Tournament field.

Stanford has lost two of its three Quad 2 games and is 2-5 in Quad 1 contests while Florida State is 1-6 on the road and two games under .500 in the ACC standings.