ACC Tournament Preview for Semifinals on Friday, March 13, 2026

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

Chalk has held so far in the ACC Tournament with the top four seeds set to battle at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center in Friday’s semifinals.

No. 2 Virginia pulled away from NC State for an 81-74 win in Thursday’s opener and No. 3 Miami (FL) avenged a loss to Louisville last week with an entertaining 78-73 victory in the afternoon, setting up a matchup between the Hurricanes and Cavaliers.

Shorthanded Duke scraped past No.8 Florida State, 80-79, thanks to a career-high 32 points from Isaiah Evans.

Check back Saturday for a breakdown of the ACC Championship game, which will be aired at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Contents

Friday’s ACC Tournament Schedule

Miami vs. Virginia – 19:00/ESPN
Clemson vs. Duke – 21:30/ESPN

2026 ACC Tournament Resources

Miami vs. Virginia Game Preview

These teams got into a thriller in February that came down to three free throws from Chance Mallory to lift Virginia in an 86-83 win. That was near the end of a 9-game win streak for the Cavaliers which was snapped by a beatdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium at the hands of No. 1 Duke.

Virginia is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation and Tony Bennett’s squad doesn’t make many mistakes to beat themselves. The Cavs are elite protecting the paint, and the Hurricanes aren’t a high-volume 3-point shooting team. What Miami does have is an elite penetrating guard in Tre Donaldson, and skilled bigs Malik Reneau and Ernest Udoh to complement him in pick-and-roll sets.

Cavs center Johann Grunloh and forward Thijs De Ridder did a good job limiting Miami’s forwards in the first matchup. Mallory and Jacari White got hot off the bench and White is capable of hitting ridiculous heat checks when he gets going.

Miami has opened as a 4.5-point underdog with an implied total of 144.5 points. The Hurricanes have really trended to the Under when listed as underdogs, going 8-2 in that spot, and 5-1 to the Under against ranked opponents. They’re also 4-0 to the Under at neutral sites.

Virginia is 19-13 to the Under on the season and trends Under when favored. The Cavs are 10-5 to the Under when facing an opponent on equal rest and 12-7 to the Under in ACC games despite going Over in their win over NC State.

Miami vs. Virginia Game Odds

Clemson vs. Duke Game Preview

Duke shut down Clemson’s offense in a 67-54 win over the Tigers one month ago. Carter Welling and RJ Godfrey were the only players to reach double figures as Clemson narrowly covered a 13.5-point spread at Cameroon Indoor Stadium.

The Tigers are also an elite defensive team, yielding the 18th-fewest points (66.2) and sixth-fewest assists per game (10.5) in the nation. Clemson plays at a slow pace and went 12-7 to the Under in conference play this season. Godfrey and Welling are the only Tigers that average double figures, although Jestin Porter and Butta Johnson can get hot.

Clemson hasn’t reached the ACC Championship since 2008 and is the only chartered program in the league to have never won the title. The Tigers have been game as underdogs this season with a 4-1 record ATS and a 6-2 ATS mark when playing on a rest disadvantage.

Clemson vs. Duke Game Odds

ACC Tournament Betting Pick

We’re bucking all the trends that would indicate Miami and Virginia are due for an under, because the implied total is just a bit too low here. The Hurricanes are clicking at the right time under Jai Lucas and Tre Donaldson has been creating advantages with his dribble penetration over the past few weeks. Both teams were able to consistently generate good looks in their last meeting, which totaled 169 points.

Virginia has been sharp offensively and has picked up its tempo since losing to Duke. Miami would certainly be game to play in transition more often since that has been a boon for the ‘Canes offense. Virginia has struggled with keeping opponents off the free throw line, so scoring could continue down the stretch with the clock stopped.

Best Bet: MIAF/UVA O (1 unit)

ACC Tournament Betting Tracker

Record: 2-1
Units: +1.5

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.