The Duke Blue Devils looked fine over the weekend even though Zion Williamson did not play due to an injury. Up ahead for Duke is a showdown with the dangerous Virginia Tech Hokies, who are looking to ambush the Blue Devils in Blacksburg this Tuesday. Will Zion be suited up, or will he listen to Twitter chatter advice and stay on the sidelines as he preps for the NBA Draft?
Duke and Virginia Tech are priced +200 and +5,000 to win the national title, respectively.
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Betting Preview for the Duke Blue Devils vs. Virginia Tech Hokies College Basketball Game on February 26, 2019
Where: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg
When: Tuesday, February 26, 2019, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Duke Blue Devils (odds) vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils (24-3 Overall / 12-2 Conference)
No Zion Williamson, no problem for the Blue Devils, who successfully avenged their loss to the Syracuse Orange last month by taking down ‘Cuse on Saturday on the road, 75-65. Playing without Williamson, who is nursing a knee issue, the Blue Devils leaned on the heroics of another projected NBA lottery pick in RJ Barrett and on a surprise starter in Alex O’Connell. Barrett paced Duke with 30 points on 14-for-20 shooting from the field, while O’Connell came out of nowhere and scored 20 points with five three-pointers. That win for the Blue Devils just shows how stacked their team is with or without Williamson. Granted, Zion is second in the conference with 21.6 points per game, third with 8.8 rebounds per game, and leads the league with a 68.3 field foal percentage and 2.2 steals per contest. However, Duke will sit Williamson for at least one more game, especially after his team confidently won their game against Syracuse. Don’t expect him to return until (or if?) they lose a game prior to the tournament.
Duke, which is averaging 85.9 points per game, is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 road games.
Betting on the Virginia Tech Hokies (21-6 Overall / 10-5 Conference)
Following a relatively close 64-58 home loss to the Virginia Cavaliers, the Hokies got back on their feet and defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend last Saturday, 67-59. The Hokies won despite not having their usual accuracy from behind the arc. They went 5-for-13 from deep and also shot just 3.5 percent from the field. They were able to get a win largely because their defense kept Notre Dame from having a good shooting night either. The Fighting Irish went just 32.8 percent from the field. The Hokies dominated the glass with 49 rebounds to just 27 by Notre Dame. Winning the rebounding battle against Duke is a tall task for Virginia Tech, but if the Hokies could hold Barrett and company to a few rebounds below the Blue Devils’ season average, they would be in a better position to upset the Dukies. The Hokies are hoping they could get their lethal 3-point shooting touch back in time for the Duke game. They are 17th in the nation with 9.9 3-pointers per game on an excellent 40.4 percent accuracy.
The over is 3-0 in Virginia Tech’s last three home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Duke wins, 76-73.
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