ACC Tournament Picks, Odds, Bracket: Our Best Bets for 2025 Conference Tournament

The ACC has been a shell of itself over the last handful of seasons, and this year has been no different. Three teams — Duke, Clemson and Louisville — absolutely dominated regular season play. The trio combined to go an absurd 55-5, with most of their wins in blowout fashion.

A handful of other teams — Wake Forest, North Carolina and SMU — have hovered around the bubble all season, failing to beat the top of the league but winning most of the games they should win.

The rest of the league has largely played mediocre-to-poor basketball.

What does that all mean in relation to this week’s ACC Tournament in Charlotte?

Well, for one, there’s three real contenders, and it would be a surprise if anyone else outside of that group lifted the trophy by week’s end.

Duke will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and is the clear favorite to hang an ACC Tournament banner after winning the regular season title.

Clemson beat the Blue Devils back in February, however, and won't be afraid to take them on again if it can get to Saturday night. Also, Louisville continues to impress in Pat Kelsey’s first season.

Oh, and one other thing worth noting: Miami, Boston College and NC State have all not qualified for this week. This is because the ACC expanded to 18 teams and only 15 made the cut for the postseason tournament.

Let's dive into our ACC Tournament picks and college basketball predictions for the 2025 edition of the tourney.

ACC Tournament Format

With 15 teams competing this week in Greensboro, there’s a pretty unique format for the tournament.

Here are the basics:

• Five total rounds starting on Tuesday and ending with the title game Saturday night
• Four teams with double-byes into the quarterfinals (Duke, Clemson, Louisville, Wake Forest)
• Five teams with single byes into the second round (North Carolina, SMU, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Virginia)
• Three first-round matchups set (Virginia Tech vs. Cal, Florida State vs Syracuse, Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh)

Early-Round Picks

Give me the chalk and the higher seeds for each of the three opening-round games.

Virginia Tech has been playing better of late and should handle Cal.

Leonard Hamilton gets one final win and knocks off Syracuse.

And Notre Dame takes out a Pitt team that seems to have packed it in for the season.

In the second round, I like Virginia to beat Georgia Tech, SMU to beat Florida State, North Carolina to survive Notre Dame (in a game that may be closer than expected) and Stanford to beat Virginia Tech.

Quarterfinals & Beyond

As I hinted at above, I expect the quarters — and beyond — to be controlled by the top teams.

Clemson and Louisville should cruise pass whoever they face in their first game of the tournament, and Duke will be a 15+ point favorite against the GT/UVA winner.

The only “upset” I'll take in this round (and it's only really an upset from a seeding standpoint) is UNC to beat Wake Forest and end the Deacs' NCAA Tournament hopes.

Picks for Semifinals & Finals

Duke should roll against the Heels for a third time, something that rarely happens in that rivalry.

The other semifinal will likely be the best and most competitive game of the tournament, as Clemson and Louisville are quality teams that match up similarly to each other.

I’ll go with Clemson to avenge its loss to the Cardinals from January and move to the title game.

As for the championship, the Tigers will be fully ready for the moment and can absolutely hang with Duke.

I’m not picking against Duke straight up on a neutral floor, however, so give me the Blue Devils to cut down the nets in Queen City.

ACC Betting Analysis

Many conference tournaments give gamblers a chance to find some value in long shots further down the board that are capable of going on a run to glory.

In fact, just last year in this tournament, NC State went on a Cinderella run all the way to confetti after entering the week at 100/1. That catapulted the Wolfpack to a Final Four run in one of the most surprising March stories in recent memory.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but that's not happening this year in the ACC. None of the teams seeded 7-15 in this field are anywhere near good enough to rip off 4-5 wins and somehow hoist a trophy.

Even at crazy odds north of 200/1, they're all a pass for me.

What about the 4-6 seeds with odds in the 30-75/1 range? It's still a pass for me. Wake and SMU are both limping into this tournament, and UNC couldn’t even keep it to single digits against Duke on Saturday on its home floor. The Heels would have to meet the Blue Devils in the semis.

That leaves us with the top three. Duke is my pick to win the tournament, but at odds of -320, there’s zero value in playing the Blue Devils.

That leaves me with one outright future for this week in Charlotte: Clemson +700.

Clemson is on the opposite side of the bracket from Duke, and should cruise in its quarterfinal game. I already discussed above that I give the edge to the Tigers in a likely rematch against Louisville in the semis.

Then there’s the outside chance that Duke somehow gets knocked off before the title game, which would make Clemson a favorite on Saturday night with plenty of hedge opportunities.

And if it's indeed the Blue Devils? Well, the Tigers have done it once and have the talent to do it again.

It would take Brad Brownell’s team’s best effort, but at 7/1, it’s worth a shot.

Here's to hoping there’s more drama in Charlotte this week than the odds and bracket suggest.

Premium picks, tools & analysis

Track & follow smart money

Biggest player prop edges

Real-time expert pick alerts

SAVE 66% NOW!