Thursday afternoon starts the ACC Tournament, as 12 of the brightest teams in the country fight it out for supremacy in one of the best conferences in America. But before you even start to think about the ACC

The first of the obvious two choice to win the ACC this year is the Duke Blue Devils (1 to 1.10 Odds to Win ACC Tournament at JustBet Sportsbook). The Dookies have a history of playing very, very well in this tournament, and they really probably are the best team in the conference. They know that they have a lot on the line here, as a spot in the finale would probably be good enough to ensure a No. 1 seed in the upcoming March Madness. If that’s not enough, there’s that chance that Kyrie Irving could make an appearance, though we really aren’t counting on it. Instead, men like Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler really could steal the show, just as they did last March and April when the Blue Devils won the national title.

The two teams that everyone is going to be paying very, very close attention to are the Boston College Eagles (22 to 1 ACC Tournament Odds at JustBet Sportsbook) and the Clemson Tigers (10 to 1 2011 ACC Tournament odds at JustBet Sportsbook). Though Virginia Tech is also sitting right there on the bubble as well, these are the two teams that probably have the most to gain or lose by playing each other in a prospective 4/5 game on Friday. The winner will probably be in the NCAA Tournament, while the loser will probably be on the outside just praying to sneak into the backdoor. However, what this also sets up is a very interesting situation in the semifinals, one that definitely cannot be ignored under any circumstance.

Remember those pesky North Carolina Tar Heels (1.40 to 1 ACC Tournament Lines at JustBet Sportsbook)? In case you have forgotten, their win over the Blue Devils last weekend was the game that earned this team the outright ACC title and the No. 1 seed in the conference. Either Clemson or Boston College will know that its job is done before it meets up with this team in the semifinals assuming that all else holds serve in this conference, which could essentially act as a bye to the Heels into the finale. Meanwhile, Duke is going to have to contend with some hungry teams that are streaky for sure. Harrison Barnes is one of the hottest players in the nation right now, and it is going to be very, very hard for anyone to body with him along with John Henson and Tyler Zeller at the same time. It’s hard for a top seed to be much of a dark horse to win an event, but this is certainly the case with the Tar Heels.

2011 ACC Tournament Odds @ JustBet Sportsbook (as of 3/8/11):
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Duke Blue Devils 1 to 1.10
North Carolina Tar Heels 1.40 to 1
Clemson Tigers 10 to 1
Florida State Seminoles 12 to 1
Virginia Tech Hokies 13 to 1
Boston College Eagles 22 to 1
Maryland Terrapins 23 to 1
Miami Hurricanes 150 to 1
Virginia Cavaliers 225 to 1
NC State Wolfpack 300 to 1
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 450 to 1
Wake Forest Demon Deacons 3,000 to 1