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2026 ACC Tournament Predictions and Expert Betting Picks

by Robert Ferringo - 3/10/2026

ACC Tournament predictions Mikel Brown Louisville Cardinals

The ACC ain’t what it used to be. But the league is still one of the most high-profile conferences in college basketball and setting up for one of the most intriguing and consequential ACC tournaments in recent memory.

While Duke leads a group of six teams squarely in next week’s NCAA tournament field, there are several desperate underachievers trying to claw their way into The Big Dance. Teams like Stanford, SMU, N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Florida State are all desperate to put together a run that will put them on the selection committee’s radar.

And desperation always makes for great television.

The ACC Tournament tips off Tuesday at The Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. with a championship game scheduled for Saturday night. Here is Doc’s Sports 2026 ACC Tournament preview and predictions, with odds to win the tournament in parentheses:

Doc’s Sports offers college basketball expert picks for every game on our NCAA basketball predictions page.

The Favorite: Duke (-350)

No surprises here. Duke is the No. 1 team in the country right now and in line for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils have lost just once since the calendar turned to 2026. But there are some clouds forming as this team heads to nearby Charlotte. Starters Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba are both injured and likely to miss some, if not all, of this tournament. Depth and skill aren’t an issue for the Blue Devils, though, and Cam Boozer and Maliq Brown should pick up the slack on both ends of the court.

The Contender: Virginia (+600)

First-year head coach Ryan Odom has done a masterful job getting Virginia back into the ACC’s top tier. Defense, like it was in the Tony Bennett Era, has been the backbone of Virginia’s success. Thijs De Ridder, a young pro from Belgium, is the team’s go-to guy, averaging 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Be wary, though: Virginia is 12-2 since a blowout road win over Louisville on Jan. 14. Seven of those 12 wins have come by five points or less and the Cavs play (and win) a ton of close games.

The Sleeper: Louisville (+900)

The Cardinals are a dangerous team in this tournament – primarily because we don’t know what they are going to get from their best player. Stud freshman Mikel Brown missed eight games in the middle of the season (the Cards went 4-4) and then sat out Louisville’s final two regular season games, both wins. If Brown plays, he will pair with Ryan Conwell to give the Cards the league’s best backcourt (averaging a combined 36.4 points per game). If he doesn’t then they don’t have the juice to cut down the nets.

The Spoiler: Clemson (+8000)

Clemson is just kind of there. Like Miami, Clemson benefitted from one of the easiest schedules in the ACC to finish ahead of more talented teams like Louisville, N.C. State and SMU. The Tigers have a Top 20 defense and not a single player that averages more than 12 points per game. They just grind, and execute, and use that grit to win games. Clemson has a chance to end Virginia Tech’s fledgling NCAA tournament hopes on Wednesday and then could take out a UNC team that’s just 5-3 down the stretch.

Bubble Team To Watch: North Carolina State (+3000)

This team sucks. The Wolfpack don’t play defense. They don’t have any chemistry. And they just don’t play good basketball. Yet here they are on the tournament bubble. State has some individual talent. Quadir Copeland and Darrion Williams can play. Paul McNeil and Ven-Allen Lubin both average over 13 points per game. But the Wolfpack lost their final regular season game as a 10-point favorite and that came after a 29-point home loss to Duke. They enter Charlotte on a 1-6 skein and there’s no telling what their motivation level is.

2026 ACC Conference Tournament Predictions: Once again: this one is Duke’s to lose. Not only are the Blue Devils by far and away the best team in the conference but they also have the easiest path to the finals, with weak sisters Clemson and UNC their likely semifinal opponents. The bottom of the bracket is where I expect fireworks, with underachievers like SMU and N.C. State capable of making noise and capable Louisville and Virginia teams battling with overrated Miami for a spot in the finals. However, Duke should cruise to the championship game and I see them earning their fifth ACC title in the last 14 years.

Robert Ferringo is a member of the Basketball Writers Association of America and a professional sports handicapper for Doc's Sports. He is considered one of the best college basketball handicappers in the country and has posted 15 of 20 winning seasons. He is looking for a monster March run and you can sign up for his college basketball picks and get more information here.

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