Champ Week - Best bets for 2022 NCAA conference tournaments

After a very long wait, it is just about NCAA tournament time. But who will be dancing and who will be left out? The conference tournaments could make or break a team's résumé.

Our experts — Joe Fortenbaugh and Dalen Cuff — are here to help, giving their best bets for Champ Week.

If you're looking for more analysis, be sure to check out PickCenter, which has projections for every game.

Note: Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.

Tournament:

ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Pac-12 | Atlantic 10

Cuff: This is not an overreaction to the Tar Heels' win at Cameron. Their form has been good (five straight wins), but it's really all about their path as the No. 3 seed. UNC gets a double bye as a top-4 seed and its quarterfinal game is likely against UVA, a team it demolished in league play. It's a bad matchup for the Cavs, given the Heels' inside presence, ability to play out of those post-doubles, make 3-pointers at a high clip and attack closeouts. In another semifinal, I could easily see Virginia Tech upsetting No. 2 seed Notre Dame. That would set up a matchup against a Hokies team that has lost twice to the Heels already.

On the other half of the bracket, Duke is the favorite at -125. First off, I'm so intrigued to see how the young Duke team bounces back from that painful and historic loss in Coach K's finale at Cameron. But more importantly, the Blue Devils have FSU (albeit with injuries) and Miami, which both beat them, and a Wake team that gave them everything they could handle in Cameron all on their side of the bracket. If they get through, I like rolling the dice in a rubber match with the Heels at +550 in a neutral venue.

Fortenbaugh: The top of the food chain in the Big 12 is vulnerable, with Kansas ranking 32nd in