The Duke Blue Devils are like a freight train traveling downhill, as there seems to be no team capable of stopping them. The Louisville Cardinals, however, will look to trip them up at home this Tuesday following a bitter loss to the Florida State Seminoles. Going into this Tuesday meeting, latest college basketball futures odds price Duke at +175 (leading the pack) to win the 2019 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament while Louisville has far less ambitious expectations with a price of just +8000 to win the big dance.
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Betting Preview for the Duke Blue Devils vs. Louisville Cardinals College Basketball Game on February 12, 2019
Where: KFC Yum Center, Louisville
When: Tuesday, February 12, 2019, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Duke Blue Devils (-8.5) vs. Louisville Cardinals (+8.5) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils (12-2 Overall / 9-1 Conference)
The Blue Devils looked every bit the favorite to win it all this season when they pummeled the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers last Saturday in Charlottesville, 81-71. To score that many points against arguably the toughest defense in the nation on the road says a lot about the how terrifying Duke is. Against the Hoos, RJ Barrett had his best offensive game of the season with all things considered. Barrett scored 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field, including six 3-pointers. As for Barrett’s partner, Zion Williamson, the hulking freshman did Zion Williamson things, scoring 18 points, grabbing five rebounds, and blocking three shots. He can be a huge factor on both ends of the field, which is a large reason why Duke has been this good so far this season. Duke is averaging 86.3 points per game – third most in the nation – and limits opponents down to only 65.5 points per contest.
Duke is 13-7 against the spread (ATS) after a road win this season, and are 7-1 straight up (SU) when playing on the road so far through the same period.
Betting on the Louisville Cardinals (17-7 Overall / 8-3 Conference)
Louisville is coming off a letdown 80-75 overtime loss in Tallahassee to the No. 22 Florida State Seminoles. The Cardinals shot better from the floor than the ‘Noles, 48.1 percent to 37.7 percent, and hit five more 3-pointers than Florida State, but all those were negated by them committing a bunch of turnovers. The Cardinals picked up 23 turnovers to just 11 by Florida State. The harassing defense of the Seminoles were too much for the Cardinals’ ball-handlers. That’s something Chris Mack’s team will have to fix quick heading into a showdown with Duke, as the Blue Devils are in the top half in the conference in defensive turnover percentage. Another thing the Cardinals need is for leading scorer Jordan Nwora to recover his shooting touch. Against the Seminoles, Nwora went 3-for-13 from the field and 0-for-6 from deep to finish with an inefficient total of 13 points. He is averaging 17.6 points this season.
Louisville is 5-1 ATS in games after a loss and are 12-2 SU when playing at KFC Yum Center so far this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Duke wins, 80-73.
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