Tip off: Noon, EST
Spread: DUKE -12.5
Total: 137.5
Betting Odds Taken From Bookmaker.eu
Duke
Duke is now sitting at 24-4 and 1st place of course in the ACC. The Blue Devils rank 11th in the nation in scoring with 79.3 points per game, and have won five straight since their loss to the Miami Hurricanes on February 5th. They also lost to the Florida State Seminoles on the 21st of January, and their other two losses include a narrow road loss to Temple and a blowout loss on the road to Ohio State, who was then ranked 2nd.
Freshman phenom Austin Rivers has impressed and leads the Blue Devils in scoring with 15.2 points per game, while also dishing out 2.2 assists per game. Young brother of Stephen Curry, Seth, is putting up 13.4 points per game and Ryan Kelly and the best Plumlee brother, Mason, are putting up 11.9 and 10.9 points, respectively.
Rivers is shooting 40.5% from three point range on 4.5 attempts per game and 44.4% from the field.
During the five game win streak, Rivers has put up 92 points while hitting 17 threes. Against Maryland, he played all 40 minutes, but managed to hit only 3 of 9 from the floor. Duke still won the game by 18.
Plumlee is almost averaging a double double, but has seen only 17 minutes per game over the last two games, due to foul trouble. In the aforementioned blowout win over the Terrapins, he posted 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and he had 14 boards in the victory over then #5 ranked North Carolina, as he went 4 of 8 from the floor in that game as well.
Duke Betting Trends:
Duke is 5-0 SU in their last 5 games and the total has gone OVER In 4 of their last 6. The Blue Devils are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 home games and they are 17-2 SU in their last 19 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The total has gone OVER in 5 of their last 6 at home and they are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games against Virginia Tech. The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Duke’s last 6 games against Virginia Tech and they are 5-1 SU in their last 6 at home against Virginia Tech. The total has gone OVER in 4 of Duke’s last 6 at home against Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech is 15-13 and ranked 9th in the ACC. They dropped their first four games of the new year, before coming back to beat then #17 Virginia by 2 on the road. They proceeded to lose the next three to BYU, Maryland, and Duke, before winning three of their next six, up to date, with wins over Clemson, Boston College, and Georgia Tech, and losses against Virginia, FSU, and Miami (FL).
Erick Green has done most of the damage for the Hokies and averages 15.7 points per game while playing 34 minutes a night. A 6’4″ junior, Green has increased his minutes and production in every year at Virginia, after struggling badly as a freshman in 2009-10, when he shot just 29% from the floor. Since then, his shot selection has improved and he has grown more comfortable as a player in a tough ACC conference.
Green posted 17 points in the loss to Duke and 18 in the loss to then #21 overall Florida State. He has scored in double figures in every game in which he has played, yet has scored over 20 in only two games. In his 5 games against ranked opponents, he has amassed 81 points (16.3 per game), so this is a big opportunity for Green to show what he can do against a premier team like Duke.
Virginia Tech Betting Trends:
Virginia Tech is 2-4 ATS in their last 6 road games and 1-5 SU in their last 6 on the road. The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the Hokies’ last 7 games on the road and they are 1-5 SU in their last 6 on the road against Duke. The Hokies are 1-5 SU in their last 6 road games against Duke and the total has gone OVER in 4 of their last 6 on the road at Duke.
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