Chapel Hill is the center of attention in all of college basketball this coming Saturday, as fierce rivals Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels square off for the first time this season. Which Blue Blood program will get the win this weekend? Check out our preview below of this Duke-North Carolina ACC college basketball game.
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Betting Preview for the Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels NCAA College Basketball Game on February 5 2022
Where: Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC
When: Saturday, February 5, 2022, 6:00 PM ET
Line: Duke Blue Devils (odds) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (odds) – view all 2022 NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils (odds)
Record: 18-3 Overall/8-2 Conference
Duke flexed its muscle anew on Monday, beginning the week with a 57-43 win in South Bend over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Blue Devils are now 5-0 in their last five games, which is a good momentum to have heading into a matchup against an archrival on the road. Paolo Bancher and AJ Griffin warmed up for the North Carolina game with impressive showings against Notre Dame. Banchero scored 21 points with nine rebounds, while Griffin also nearly double-doubled with 13 points and nine boards. Duke absolutely dominated the glass versus the Fighting Irish, 51-36. North Carolina is a great rebounding team, but the Tar Heels face a tough challenge in that area against Duke, which is 25th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game. The Blue Devils also sport an elite defense that is tops in the ACC with just 96.4 points allowed per 100 possessions and limits league opponents to only 43.1 effective field goal percentage.
Duke is 3-1 against the spread in its last four games away from Durham.
Betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels (odds)
Record: 15-6 Overall/7-3 Conference
North Carolina has also built a nice momentum heading into the game against the Blue Devils. The Tar Heels are 3-0 straight up in their last three games with consecutive wins versus the Virginia Tech Hokies, Boston College Eagles, and NC State Wolfpack – all in Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack were demolished by North Carolina at home last Saturday to the tune of a 100-80 score. They will make a trip to Kentucky to face the Louisville Cardinals this Tuesday, before returning home to prepare fully for the Duke game. Caleb Love and Armando Bacot are expected to lead the Tar Heels versus Duke. Love had 21 points in the win against NC State, while Bacot posted a massive double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Bacot is a rebounding machine for the Tar Heels, who are eighth nationally in rebounds per game. The junior is ninth in the nation in defensive rebounding rate. Meanwhile, outside shooting is another weapon the Tar Heels can rely on, as they are making 38.5 percent of their 3-point attempts, thus far in conference play.
North Carolina is 7-3 against the spread in its last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Duke wins, 75-72.
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