ACC Tournament Odds & Picks: Why Georgia Tech & Clemson Are Our Favorite Outright Bets

ACC Tournament Odds & Picks: Why Georgia Tech & Clemson Are Our Favorite Outright Bets article feature image
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Pictured: Moses Wright

There's still a long list of conferences yet to crown champions, with 15 championship games on Saturday followed by five more before the NCAA Tournament bracket is released on Sunday.

In order to help you navigate the jam-packed weekend of college basketball, our  analysts have come together to deliver their top picks to win each of the remaining Power 6 and high-major conference tournaments.

You'll find their favorite outright bets for the ACC Tournament below. Be sure to also check out their picks for the Big 12, Big East and more conference tournaments here.

ACC Tournament

Bettor
Pick
Sportsbook
Collin Wilson
Georgia Tech +2500 / Clemson +2000
DraftKings
Mike Randle
Georgia Tech +2500
DraftKings

Collin Wilson: Georgia Tech +2500 / Clemson +2000

Editor's Note: Georgia Tech has since dropped to 10-1 at DraftKings, and 13-1 is the best price across the U.S. market.

The two hottest teams in the ACC are set to clash in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, prompting an investor to split a half-unit wager on both teams.

While odds on other double-bye teams such as Virginia, Florida State and Virginia Tech provide little to no value, the Yellow Jackets and Tigers represent a combination with a greater reward. Not only are the odds in Clemson and Georgia Tech’s favor, but they avoid the other side of the bracket which includes Duke, Louisville and North Carolina.

Per Torvik Rank, since Feb. 1, no team has had a better adjusted defensive efficiency than Clemson. The Tigers have won six of their past seven games with a lone loss coming against the zone defense at Syracuse.

Brad Brownell’s squad is not known for being an offensive powerhouse, but in the past five weeks, the Tigers are third in effective field goal percentage led by the best shooting percentage from 3-point territory at 41.1%.

As for the Yellow Jackets, Josh Pastner has led his team to six straight victories. Georgia Tech has dominated the ACC in the paint, ranking first in the conference from 2-point percentage at 55.6%.

Turnovers are the name of the game for the Yellow Jackets defense, as it ranks first in the ACC in steal percentage, led by guard Jose Alvarado, who is 13th in the nation in steals.

Both Clemson and Georgia Tech project to be a pick’em game in the quarterfinals. The winner will be approximately a 3-point dog to Virginia in the semifinals, but that sweat will be accompanied by needing just two victories with a ticket that is 20-1 or better.

Pick: Georgia Tech +2500 / Clemson +2000


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Mike Randle: Georgia Tech +2500

There is little value in betting Florida State (+250) as the favorite, or Virginia (+350), which is a notch below its usual talent level. But there is tremendous value in a Georgia Tech team that shockingly provides just the eighth-best odds at +2500.

The Yellow Jackets enter the ACC Tournament with six consecutive wins, including three ACC road wins. They are still one of our teams that enjoy the double-bye, yet Georgia Tech has substantially worse odds than the other three teams: Florida State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech (+500).

Head coach Josh Pastner found a way to defeat Florida State at home by 11, Virginia Tech on the road by 16, and barely lost twice to Virginia, including a 64-62 result in Charlottesville.

Georgia Tech has the balance to beat any opponent, ranking first in ACC play in 20% (55.6%), while forcing the highest turnover rate in conference play.

It has one of the most underrated point guards in the nation in Jose Alvarado (15.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 4.2 APG, 2.9 SPG) and has senior forward Moses Wright (18 PPG, 8.1 RPG) playing the best basketball of his career.

In their recent four-game winning streak over Miami, Virginia Tech, Duke, and Syracuse, Wright was dominant with per-game averages of 25 points and 13 rebounds.

Everything points to Georgia Tech as a huge betting value. It has a great inside-outside combination, has momentum, a double-bye, and the much easier side of the bracket without Florida State, Louisville, or Virginia Tech.

I’ll gladly take the Ramblin' Wreck at +2500 to win the ACC Tournament.

Pick: Georgia Tech +2500


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Nick Sterling
Apr 26, 2024 UTC