Los Angeles Lakers
ACC March Madness Predictions and Odds: Will Bubble Burst for Blue Blood UNC?
- Duke is still a top contender in the odds of winning March Madness.
- Get the best ACC basketball odds at BetUS.
- Read on for my March Madness breakdown for ACC teams this week.
There was a time when the ACC ruled college basketball. That is certainly not the case during the 2024-25 season with Duke and Clemson the only ACC teams with more than one win over a ranked team.
Duke continues to lead the way in the ACC standings and heads the ACC teams expected to be part of the March Madness field. The Blue Devils are back in action on Monday with the BetUS sportsbook listing Duke as a 15-point road favorite against Virginia.
Duke (+350) is second only behind Auburn in the March Madness odds. No other ACC teams are in the top 20 in the championship odds.
Time is running short for teams sitting on the bubble to make a statement and prove that they belong in the NCAA Tournament field. Here is the latest bubble watch and NCAAB betting lines for ACC teams from BetUS.
ACC March Madness Breakdown
North Carolina, SMU on NCAAB Bubble
There is some work to do if the ACC wants to avoid being limited to just three teams making it into the March Madness field.
SMU is the bubble team with the best chance of making it into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team.
SMU is 10-4 in ACC play and 5-2 on the road. However, an 0-4 mark in Quad 1 games is something the NCAA selection committee will look at. The Mustangs lost home games to Duke and Louisville by 27 and 25 points in January, per NCAAB betting trends.
Highlights from last night’s 88-82 victory 🆚 Syracuse pic.twitter.com/LU4QR25B7T
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) February 16, 2025
North Carolina is coming off a win at Syracuse. A couple decades ago, that would have made college basketball news. Now it is just another game on the schedule.
North Carolina’s name might get the Tar Heels a long look when it comes to picking the at-large teams, but little about the body of work has North Carolina trending as a possible NCAA Tournament team.
The Tar Heels are 1-10 in Quad 1 games. Since a win over UCLA on Dec. 21, the Tar Heels have not been competitive against ranked teams. North Carolina welcomes Duke to town in the regular-season finale. A win in that game could help but would it be enough to remove North Carolina from being a bubble team?
The college basketball odds had North Carolina tied for the seventh shortest odds of winning March Madness when the season began. The underachieving Tar Heels have seen their championship odds move from +2000 to +30000.
The fourth-place team in the ACC is usually not considered to be a March Madness bubble team. However, Wake Forest is languishing in 58th place in the NCAA NET rankings. The Demon Deacons are behind Santa Clara and North Texas. There is a game remaining against Duke but not much else in the regular season to make a move.
The Contenders
Duke is holding steady at No. 2 in the NCAA NET rankings despite a recent loss to Clemson. When the NCAA men’s basketball selection committee released the top 16 seeds, Duke was the only No. 1 seed not to come from the ACC.
One concern for the Blue Devils is that 13 of the 22 wins have come in Quad 3 or Quad 4 games. The Blue Devils are just 2-2 against ranked teams and it is quite possible that Duke won’t meet up with a ranked opponent before the March Madness bracket is finalized.
That shouldn’t stop the Blue Devils, led by dynamic freshman Cooper Flagg, from earning a No. 1 seed. They take a 7-1 road record into Monday night’s game, per Duke vs Virginia stats.
Clemson followed up its win over Duke by beating North Carolina by 20 points and topping Florida State by 26. The Tigers don’t play again until Saturday and a game at SMU could be a little tricky.
FIVE STRAIGHT ROAD DUBS 😤🚗 pic.twitter.com/3vcNvwIU5j
— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) February 15, 2025
Louisville has won four games in a row and the Cardinals could easily win the rest of their games during the regular season. Clemson and Louisville are just a game back of Duke in the ACC standings.
Clemson (3-2 in Quad 1 games) and Louisville (4-4 in Quad 1 games) are both in the top 30 in the NCAA NET rankings. Don’t expect either of them to be top four seeds in the NCAA tournament, but barring late-season meltdowns, they look good to make the field of 68.
The college basketball futures odds have Clemson at +6500 and Louisville at +7500 in the odds of winning March Madness.
Some Work to Do for March Madness
Pittsburgh is ahead of Wake Forest in the NCAA NET rankings. However, that is a result of eight Quad 1 losses. Playing a challenging schedule is commendable, but the Panthers have won only one of its nine Quad 1 games.
The Panthers are tied for ninth in the ACC standings and that could mean a potential showdown with Duke in the ACC tournament. The combined record of Pittsburgh’s next three opponents is 35-42 and that won’t help Pittsburgh make a move in the NCAA NET rankings.
The next ACC team is No. 84 Stanford. The Cardinal followed by a loss at Georgia Tech by losing by 36 points to Duke. Senior forward Maxime Reynaud is a popular target in the college basketball player props. However, the opportunities to bet on Reynaud are running out.
Check Out Last Week’s ACC March Madness Bubble Teams Stats
Questions of the Day
Which ACC team has the best record against the spread?
Clemson and Louisville are both 16-10 against the college basketball spread followed by Duke at 15-10.
Who is the top scorer in the ACC this season?
Stanford senior forward Maxime Raynaud is averaging 19.9 points per game.
Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets
