ACC Tournament Preview From a Bettors Standpoint

Stop me when you heard this before: North Carolina and Duke are the favorites to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. Perennially considered one of the top basketball conferences in the country, the ACC currently has only two ranked teams, the aforesaid Tar Heels and Blue Devils.

UNC is 4/5 while Duke is 2/1. Curt Thomas of GodsTips, anchor of OffshoreInsiders.com says that Duke will come out on top. "We always preach about the trap of going with teams that need a win more, but there is a big difference between needing and wanting a win more," explains Thomas.

"Duke is a quality team with something to prove following their loss last Saturday at Cameron Indoor. Plus, with three games in three days, there is no question that (Carolina coach) Roy Williams will be cautious with Ty Lawson," says Thomas in reference to the Tar Heels star point guard, who is still recovering from an injury.

The Clemson Tigers are the most likely to spoil the Tobacco Road party at 5/1 according to the sportsbooks. The only other team to have an above .500 mark in the conference was Virginia Tech. They are next at 8/1. The Miami Hurricanes, unlike the Hokies, though won 20-plus games (21 to be exact). Yet they are a big long shot at 12/1.

The Terrapins of Maryland come into the tournament skidding, losing 4-of-5 straight up and are 15/1.  That's just behind the erratic Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Ramblin' Wreck is 14/1.

Expected also-rans include Virginia and Wake Forest at 25/1, Florida State at 30/1, Boston College and 40/1 and no pun intended but NC State trails the pack at 50/1.

The author Joe Duffy is CEO of OffshoreInsiders.com, one of the most respected sports handicapping sites on the World Wide Web.