Tobacco Road Tussle
By Brobury Sports
UNC, Duke still the big one
The North Carolina Tar Heels may be struggling, but it’s always a great game when they play the Duke Blue Devils. Here’s the Wednesday preview from BroburySports.com.
Duke is a six-point road favorite at BroburySports. The game is on ESPN at 9 pm ET.
Duke (19-4 SU, 14-8 ATS) has been a great home team this year at 13-0 SU and 9-3 ATS. They’ve also done fine in neutral games at 4-0 SU and ATS.
The problem has been the hostile environment of road games. The record stands at 2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS after a 66-63 win at Boston College on Saturday. Duke was an eight-point favorite, but was lucky to hold off the Eagles after a fourth quarter run.
Duke’s main problem on the road is shooting. They have no real inside game to speak of, so they rely on perimeter guys like Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. Together they combine for 53 PPG.
However, Duke hasn’t shot well on the road, and they don’t have the post-up game to fall back on. This is a problem that has haunted Duke in prior years during March Madness, and it looks like déjà vu all over again.
North Carolina struggling real bad
UNC (13-10 SU, 7-14 ATS) started the season 11-3 SU, with the only losses coming against top teams Kentucky, Texas and Syracuse. The Tar Heels certainly didn’t look as good as last year’s championship team, but they weren’t bad either.
Things have changed in a hurry the last nine games. A shocking loss to Charleston out of the Southern Conference started things off. UNC was 13 ½-point ‘chalk’ in that game.
It’s gotten even worse in ACC play with a 2-6 SU and ATS record. Being at home hasn’t helped either, losing the last three SU and ATS to Virginia, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.
There is still plenty of talent, starting down low with Ed Davis and Deon Thompson. Coach Roy Williams likes to push the ball on every possession, but they don’t have the guards to protect the ball, and there are no great scorers on the perimeter.
UNC is 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings against Duke. The road team is 4-0 ATS in the last four.
Can North Carolina start to turn its season around?
Bet on it at BroburySports