ACC Tournament Preview for Games on Thursday, March 12, 2026

By Kody Malstrom | Apr 13, 2026, 10:30am

The first two rounds of the ACC Tournament are in the books and now the top seeds in the conference will enter the fray during quarterfinals action Thursday.

No. 15 Pittsburgh’s cinderella run lasted just one game, as NC State handled the Panthers Wednesday. Louisville came back late to stop No. 11 SMU, and Florida State lit it up in a high-scoring win over California.

Duke remains the favorite to win the ACC Championship despite losing starting point guard Caleb Foster and center Patrick Ngongba II to foot injuries.

All games are held at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina and the action runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with the championship game scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. So check back each day for updates!

Thursday’s ACC Tournament Schedule

NC State vs. Virginia – 12:00/ESPN
Louisville vs. Miami-Florida – 14:30/ESPN2
FSU vs. Duke – 19:00/ESPN
Clemson vs. UNC – 21:30 /ESPN

2026 ACC Tournament Resources

NC State vs. Virginia Game Preview

NC State came into the tournament on a four-game losing streak, but came alive during a 98-88 win over Pittsburgh Wednesday. The Wolfpack struggled to keep the Panthers off the offensive glass and that could be a factor in a matchup against a Virginia squad that averages the eighth-most rebounds per game (40.4) in the nation this season with a 37.3% offensive rebounding rate.

Aside from a blowout loss at Duke to close February, the Cavaliers have been white-hot with 11 straight wins, including a 90-61 victory over NC State on Feb. 24. Johann Grunloh and Thijs De Ridder provide energy and size down low and Virginia has an experienced backcourt led by Malik Thomas and Dallin Hall.

Virginia has opened as a relatively short 5-point favorite with an implied game total of 150.5 points. The Cavaliers are 11-14-2 against the spread as favorites this season and 12-6 to the Under against ACC foes.

NC State vs. Virginia Game Odds

Louisville vs. Miami Game Preview

These teams just met at Miami this past Saturday and Louisville pulled out a 92-89 shootout victory despite the absence of star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. (back) who will remain out during the ACC Tournament. The Cardinals got out to a ridiculous start in that contest with Ryan Conwell dropping 18 points in the first half and they finished 12-for-24 from 3-point range. On the season, Louisville is shooting 36% from deep but fires away at the third-highest volume in the nation.

Miami is strong down low with Malik Reneau leading the way and Tre Donaldson has been hot on the perimeter during a 7-2 finish to the regular season that included wins over UNC and Florida State. The Hurricanes are a popular sleeper pick to win the ACC Tournament under new coach Jai Lucas.

Miami is 7-3 against the spread with a rest advantage this season, with a 15.2 PPG margin of victory. Those games are also 8-2 to the Over and Miami is 16-4-1 to the Over when favored. Louisville is 1-3 ATS with a rest disadvantage and 3-6 ATS against ranked opponents.

Louisville vs. Miami Game Odds

Florida State vs. Duke Game Preview

Duke remains the No. 1 team in the nation with Cam Boozer expected to win Player of the Year. Much like last year, when Cooper Flagg led a star-studded roster, the Blue Devils are the favorites in the ACC Tournament, and they could meet arch rival UNC in the semifinals again if they can dispatch a surging Florida State squad.

The Seminoles run offense through guards Robert McCray, Lajae Jones, and Chauncey Wiggins, generating the sixth-most 3-point attempts per game (31.6) in the nation and averaging 79.9 points per game. They’ve been red-hot from deep lately with three straight wins shooting at least 40% from beyond the arc.

Duke has been elite defensively all year and should survive the loss of center Patrick Ngongba II thanks to the frontcourt play of Maliq Brown and Boozer. The Blue Devils are 17-11 against the spread after a win and come into the tournament riding an 18-1 stretch with some very impressive victories.

Florida State has been streaky this year with a 12-5 ATS record following a win. The ‘Noles are 4-1-1 ATS with a rest disadvantage and those games are 5-1 to the Under, falling short of the implied total by an average of 12.8 points per game.

Florida State vs. Duke Game Odds

Clemson vs. UNC Game Preview

The Tar Heels lost stud freshman Caleb Wilson to a fractured thumb during practice last week and that lengthened their odds to win a potential third matchup with Duke in the ACC semifinals. They have to take down Clemson again after scoring a 67-63 win over the Tigers last Tuesday without Wilson. Fellow all-conference performers Seth Trimble and Henry Veesaar will have to take on a bigger load in the tournament. Trimble is a veteran with 43 starts under his belt.

Clemson has not had much success in the ACC Tournament and is actually the only chartered program in the conference to have never won it all. After dropping five of six games, the Tigers closed with a narrow win over Georgia Tech that doesn’t inspire much confidence. They managed to dispatch Wake Forest in the second round Wednesday behind a solid defensive effort.

Clemson is a disciplined defensive team that can close out on the 3-point line and limit opponents to one shot. Carter Welling and RJ Godfrey lead the Tigers in scoring and rebounding, and Butta Johnson and Ace Buckner are capable of getting hot to help those wings.

Clemson went 4-1 ATS as underdogs this season and 4-1-1 ATS against ranked opponents. UNC went 5-1 ATS with a rest advantage and has trended towards the under in most spots with a 5-1 mark to the Under against ranked opponents.

Clemson vs. UNC Game Odds

ACC Tournament Betting Pick

The Miami Hurricanes were in a trap spot when they faced Louisville last week without Mikel Brown and they came out slow before rallying back late. They should build on that momentum in the rematch and take advantage of a Louisville squad playing on back-to-back days.

Jai Lucas has done a fantastic job in his first year with the Hurricanes and should have his players locked in and motivated for a shot at revenge. Miami has advantages down low and won’t have to rely on the 3-point variance that bolstered Louisville’s big first half last week.

Best Bet: Miami ML (1.5 units)

ACC Tournament Betting Tracker

Record: 1-1
Units: Even

Kody Malstrom

Kody is a professional sports bettor and sports betting journalist with eight years of experience in the industry. He covers a wide range of sports, including NFL, NCAAF, NBA, NCAAB, NHL, MLB, and UFC. What started as a side gig has turned into a full time job, spending a majority of his time staring at odds screens and market movement. When away from the computer, Kody enjoys spending his time outdoors relaxing at the beach or golfing with friends.