The 2023 ACC tournament has got the potential to see the most upsets in all of the conference tournaments that will be played this year. There are no really good ACC teams, as the majority of the teams are alright and as you can tell by the betting odds below there are no clear-cut favorites to win this tournament. Will one of the big-name teams come out of the funk that they have had this season to win the ACC tournament title? Are we going to see a new tournament champion? A lot of questios will be answered now. With that being said here are my predictions for the 2023 ACC tournament.
The Betting Odds
Duke +280
Virginia +300
Miami +340
UNC +600
Clemson +600
NC State +1200
Pittsburgh +1400
Wake Forest +4000
Virginia Tech +5000
Syracuse +10000
Florida State +15000
Georgia Tech +35000
Boston College +35000
Notre Dame +50000
Louisville +100000
The Bracket
Do We Believe In Jim Larranaga and The Hurricanes?
The Hurricanes have been a bright spot in the ACC this season. Miami averages 79.6 points per game which is the most in the conference and they rank 29th in the country as well. This Hurricanes team has four players that average 13+ points per game. Their three-guard trio of junior guard Isaiah Wong, senior guard Jordan Miller and sophomore guard Nijel Pack are a big reason why Miami is where they are in the ACC. Wong averages 15.9 points per game to go along with a 44/38/83 shooting split. Miller is averaging 15.1 points per game to go along with 6.1 rebounds per game to go along with a 54/34/80 shooting split. Pack averages 13.4 points per game to go along with a 44/41/87 shooting split. These three have been fantastic all season long and will be beneficial for Miami’s chance to win the conference tournament.
Another key piece is sophomore forward Norchard Omier. Omier averages 14.1 points per game to go along with 10 rebounds per game (t-13th) in the nation. He is also shooting 59% from the field on the season as well. Miami will be looking to win their first ACC title with Larranaga since 2013 when he led Miami to an ACC tournament title. This is also Larranaga’s best team since then as well. He can outcoach almost any coach in this conference right now. Look for Miami to show why they won a share of the ACC regular season title.
Buying Into Duke’s Late Season Success?
Duke comes into the ACC tournament winning 9 out of their last 11. The Blue Devils are working with a first-year head coach Jon Scheyer. Scheyer led the Blue Devils to a 23-8 season and there was talk that this Duke team was not good at the beginning of the season. The big bright spot for the Blue Devils was the blossoming of freshman big man Kyle Filipowski. Filipowski averages 15 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game as well. They came into this season with the best recruiting class. The top two recruits from the past class in Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead have not looked good this year.
With these two guys not playing well, you would think that Duke would be a lot worse than what their record is currently. However, they have two freshmen that have stepped up and played better than these top two recruits. Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor are the two freshmen that have provided much more than expected this year. Also, people forget that last season, this was the time that Jeremy Roach came onto the scene. If he can be a big-time player for them, they are going to be a dangerous team to see in this tournament.
Does UNC Make A Run To Make The Tournament?
The Tar Heels have been up and down all season long. They bring back a lot of their production from a season ago, however, this is not the same team we saw a season ago. UNC is led by the duo of Caleb Love and Armando Bacot. Love a junior point guard who averages 16.7 points per game. Bacot a senior big man is averaging 16.5 points per game to go along with 10.8 rebounds per game (8th in the nation). These two guys were key to UNC’s run to the national title game. Could they go on a run to the ACC tournament final?
They have the path to get them there, to be honest. They would play the winner of BC/Louisville, then Virginia who they’ve beaten, then Clemson/NC State. UNC can run through that and head to the ACC tournament final. Can Hubert Davis lead this team back to the NCAA tournament after this disastrous season? We will have to wait and see.
The Don’s Winner
I am riding the Hurricanes +340. They have three fantastic guards that can score and I really truly believe that they have what it takes to win the conference tournament. Look for Jim Larranaga to win his second-ever ACC conference tournament title.
The Don’s Game By Game Winner
First Round
12 Florida State over 13 Georgia Tech
10 Boston College over 15 Louisville
11 Virginia Tech over 14 Notre Dame
Second Round
9 Wake Forest over 8 Syracuse
12 Florida State over 5 Pittsburgh
7 UNC over 10 Boston College
6 NC State over 11 Virginia Tech
Quarterfinals
1 Miami over 9 Wake Forest
4 Duke over 12 Florida State
7 UNC over 2 Virginia
6 NC State over 3 Clemson
Semifinals
1 Miami over 4 Duke
7 UNC over 6 NC State
Finals
1 Miami over 7 UNC