The Duke Blue Devils are hosting the North Carolina Tar Heels in college basketball action tonight. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. The college basketball odds for the game have the Blue Devils favored to pick up the win.
College Basketball Odds
Duke -2.5
Total: 162.5 points
Duke and Carolina are one of the better rivalries in all of sports and tonight another chapter will be written. The rich history here between the two schools separated by only a few miles will once again be on center stage and this year’s contest will feature a ton of talent and what should be a well-played game.
UNC sports one of the better resumes in college basketball, the Tar Heels have 13 wins against the Top 100 RPI. Roy Williams’ group is very strong on the offensive end of the floor, averaging 88 points per game, which is fifth-best in the country. Duke, on the other hand, is just below the Tar Heels average at 83 points a game, ranking 20th in the country.
This will be the 77th time the two teams have met while ranked in the Associated Press poll and the143rd consecutive meeting at least one of them is ranked when facing off.
This will be the first time all season Duke hosts a team that is ranked and this will be the third game in a row where the Tar Heels are ranked higher than the Blue Devils.
Carolina leads the ACC with a 9-2 record, Duke finds itself farther down at 6-4 but they are now getting their players back into the rotation.
Duke has won four of the last five contests between the schools and 11 of the last 15 matchups overall. Carolina won last year in Durham 76-72 as they were able to pick up the ACC regular-season championship.
Duke will rely on its guards Luke Kennard (19.8 points per game) and Grayson Allen (15.8) to play well. The inside game with Jayson Tatum (15.8, seven rebounds per game) and Amile Jefferson (12 points, 9.2 rebounds per game) could play a major role as well.
Carolina is huge up front with Isaiah Hicks (12.8, 5.6), Kennedy Meeks (12.6, 9.4) and Justin Jackson (18.6, 4.8). Joel Berry II makes the Tar Heels tough to beat from the point guard spot as well, when UNC has everything working well they are tough to beat.
Duke is very strong at home, but Carolina has some tough road wins this season. Their offense is putting up some strong numbers this season and Duke’s defense isn’t good enough to keep them from putting up numbers here.
Free Pick: North Carolina
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