Notre Dame vs. Duke Pick
Can No. 4 Duke beat up on a short-handed Notre Dame team when the two ACC foes meet up tonight at 7PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Duke is the clear favorite in this game, as the Blue Devils are getting odds of -14.5 points against Notre Dame. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 149 points. Tonight’s game takes place from Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina and will air live on ESPN.
Notre Dame has been dealing with big injuries lately and have lost five straight coming into tonight. The Fighting Irish are 13-8 overall, 3-5 in the ACC and 7-10 against the spread. ND is averaging 76.3 points per game on offense this year while allowing just 66.4 per game on defense. Bonzie Colson is still dealing with his foot injury while Matt Farrell is dealing with his ankle injury that has him out tonight as well. Colson and Farrell combine for 37.1 points, 12.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game. TJ Gibbs is the active leader right now with 15.4 points per game.
Duke is coming off a 65-63 loss at home to Virginia this weekend, snapping a five-game win streak. The Blue Devils are now 18-3 overall, 6-3 in the ACC and 12-7 against the spread. Duke is averaging 90.3 points per game on offense while allowing 72.3 per contest. Marvin Bagley III has been leading Duke this season with 22 points and 11.6 rebounds per game while Grayson Allen, Gary Trent Jr. and Wendell Carter Jr. each average over 14 points per game.
Duke has won its last two meetings with Notre Dame, but the Irish had won five of six prior to that. Notre Dame hasn’t been able to overcome its injuries, which is too bad. ND had a solid team when healthy. During this losing streak they are 1-4 against the spread. The Blue Devils have followed up their last two losses with big wins, covering in both cases. The public betting is strongly with Duke tonight and I agree. I like the Blue Devils to roll.
CBB DAILY PREDICTION: DUKE -14.5