Duke at North Carolina odds, picks and predictions
The Duke Blue Devils (22-8, 13-6 ACC) finish the season against the North Carolina Tar Heels (19-11, 11-8) Saturday in Chapel Hill. Tip from Dean E. Smith Center is at 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook's lines around the Duke vs. UNC odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
After these rivals, located just 7 miles apart, met in the Final Four in 2022, no one would have imagined their 2023 regular-season finales possibly being for a return trip to the tournament.
UNC came into the season ranked No. 1 in the nation with 4 returning starters and an excellent incoming freshman class. Legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski retired following 2022, but this was not supposed to happen.
The Tar Heels will likely miss the tournament unless they can win Saturday and make a deep run in the ACC Tournament. Duke is more solid in its position, but it would love nothing better than to be the final nail in its rival's coffin.
Duke has dealt with injury and had touted freshmen not live up to the hype. While the Blue Devils are normally a good 3-point shooting team, they have only hit 33.0% on the season (245th nationally).
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Duke at UNC odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:30 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML) : Duke +150 (bet $100 to win $150) | UNC -175 (bet $175 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS) : Duke +3.5 (-105) | UNC -3.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U) : 143.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Duke at UNC picks and predictions
Prediction
Duke 74, UNC 71
Moneyline
BET DUKE (+150).
UNC has everything on the line at home in this game and coach Hubert Davis will have the Tar Heels ready to go. But in this season and with this team, it won't be enough.
Duke topped UNC 63-57 as a 2.5-point home favorite as the Under (145.5) connected on Feb. 4.
This will be another close battle, but the underdog Blue Devils will win.
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Against the spread
This is a PASS for me, but if you would rather take the points with Duke (or do a split moneyline/against the spread wager), that's a reasonable strategy as well.
However, I think Duke will be able to pull off the upset over its rivals and I would rather make the moneyline play and forego the less lucrative spread.
Over/Under
BET OVER 143.5 (-110).
Saturday should give us a close game with a solid pace.
The Over is 5-1 in the Blue Devils' last 6 games against a team with a winning record. UNC has a similar streak going as it is 7-1 to the Over in its last 8 against a team with a winning record.
A close game at the end means trips to the free throw line will also be in store. This will help propel the game OVER 143.5 (-110).
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