2019 ACC Tournament Odds: Virginia, not Duke, Listed as Slight Favorite

• Defending champ Virginia is favored to win the 2019 ACC tournament
• Duke is still favored to win the NCAA tournament
• No defending champion has won the ACC tournament since Duke won three in a row from 2009-11

Virginia is being given odds to buck the trends.

Thanks to a tiebreaker over UNC, the Virginia #Hoos are once again the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament https://t.co/UAPjT5ZJjq

— Washington Times Sports (@WashTimesSports) March 11, 2019

All sportsbooks are favoring the Cavaliers to repeat as ACC tournament champions. The tournament runs from Tuesday, March 12th to Saturday, March 16th, at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC.

Odds To Win 2019 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament

All odds taken March 11.

2019 ACC Tournament Bracket

Tough Road For Virginia

This is the fourth time in six years that the Cavaliers have entered the ACC tournament as the No. 1 seed. But history does not appear to be on Virginia’s side.

No team has repeated as ACC tournament champions since the Duke Blue Devils won three titles in a row from 2009-11.

ACC Tournament Quarterfinal FYI

🏀 Duke vs. Cuse/BC/Pitt
📺 ESPN
❗️Charlotte, NC
🗓 Thursday
⏰ 9:20 PM*

*Approximate start time after 7 PM game #HereComesDuke 🔵😈 pic.twitter.com/YtMHxqqG61

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 10, 2019

In the past four years, four different schools have won the ACC tournament.

Past ACC Tournament Champions

That said, Virginia is the one school that’s captured multiple titles in the last half decade, winning the ACC tournament in 2014 and 2018.

The only other year the Cavaliers were ACC tournament champions was in 1976. But Virginia owns nine ACC regular-season titles.

Virginia and North Carolina tied for top spot during regular-season ACC play, each sporting 16-2 records; the Cavaliers claimed the title via tiebreaker, having defeated the Tar Heels 69-61 on the road at Chapel Hill in their only meeting of the season.

🔒 in that 1⃣ seed for the #ACCTourney!
🔶⚔️🔷 #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/6zwwqpynfM

— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 10, 2019

The Cavaliers rely on airtight defense to succeed – they own the best three-point field-goal defense in the nation (27.3 percent). And they score better than last year’s squad, which became the first no. 1 seed to be upset by a no. 16 (UMBC) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. De’Andre Hunter, Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome are all shooting better than 42 percent from three.

Virginia is the only school ranked in the top five on both offense and defense in the KemPom ratings.

Look Who’s Back

Just when you were ready to count the Duke Blue Devils out the picture, their star has risen.

Coach K expects Zion Williamson back for the ACC tournament. https://t.co/1JNimNBVb9

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) March 10, 2019

All-world freshman Zion Williamson will return to action for the ACC tournament, and even Williamson at three-quarter speed makes Duke an imposing threat to win it all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWtObstsKdE

Williamson missed the last five games after a freak incident. He suffered a knee injury on Feb. 20 against North Carolina when his shoe exploded as he planted his foot. Duke went 3-3 without him (counting the UNC game, in which he played all of 30 seconds).

Duke has lost just one game this season at full strength. What's at stake for Zion Williamson and the Blue Devils this week at the ACC Tournament? Here's the latest @SInow: https://t.co/6OMeIzJD7Y

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 11, 2019

The Blue Devils were 23-2 with Williamson in the lineup, losing only to Gonzaga and Syracuse.

Among the 23 victories were a pair of decisions over the Cavaliers, the only losses dealt to 28-2 Virginia this season.

What About The Tar Heels?

Not only did North Carolina earn a share of the ACC regular-season title, the Tar Heels went 2-0 against Duke. It should be noted, however, that one win came in the game that Williamson was injured and the other in one of the games he missed while hurt.

North Carolina is an experienced and balanced team, sitting top-12 on both offense and defense in the KemPom ratings. The Tar Heels shoot the three well (37.3 percent).

They lead the nation in rebounding (43.5 per game) and are second in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (30.4 RPG).

Which School Will Take It?

First off, can you make a case for any school posting an upset?

Syracuse (Duke) and Louisville (North Carolina) have impressive upset pelts on the belts, but both are sub-.500 in their last ten (4-6 and 3-7, respectively).

Florida State plays rugged defense and will prove a tough out for any school, but the only signature wins for the Seminoles were early-season triumphs over Purdue and LSU.

Two items jump off the page and should grab your attention. Virginia hasn’t beaten Duke with Williamson in the lineup. North Carolina has beaten Duke, but not with Williamson on the floor.

When Zion was in, the Blue Devils took down Virginia twice, something no other school has done once. Duke demolished Kentucky.

It’s difficult to see any school other than one of the big three winning the ACC tournament, and if Williamson is healthy and on his game, nobody is beating Duke.

SBD’s NCAA conference tournament coverage:

• 2019 SEC Tournament Odds: Tennessee & Kentucky Favored Over LSU
• 2019 Big East Conference Tournament Odds: Villanova Favored Over Slumping Marquette
• 2019 MEAC Tournament Odds: Norfolk State Listed as Favorites
• Lipscomb Odds-On Favorite to Win NCAAM Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
• Colgate Odds-On Favorite to Win Patriot League Tournament
• 2019 Horizon League Tournament Odds: Northern Kentucky Favored
• 2019 Big South Tournament Odds: Radford Favored
• 2019 MAAC Tournament Odds: Iona & Rider Listed as Co-Favorites
• 2019 Colonial Conference Tournament Odds: Hofstra Given Edge Over Northeastern
• Saint Francis Red Flash Favored to Win 2019 Northeast Conference Tournament
• Belmont Favored Over Murray State in Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
• 2019 West Coast Conference Tournament Odds: Should You Bet Against Gonzaga?
• 2019 Summit Conference Tournament Odds: South Dakota St Heavily Favored
• Wofford Listed as Odds-On Favorite in 2019 Southern Conference Tournament
• Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Odds: Loyola-Chicago Favored