The Virginia Cavaliers hope to cap off a dream season by claiming both the ACC regular season and tournament championship for the first time in the school’s 109-year history, but can their elite defense shut down the offense of the dangerous Duke Blue Devils?
Read on for everything you need to know to bet this huge college basketball game that could decide whether Virginia grabs a No. 1 seed in the Madness on Sunday.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Duke Blue Devils vs. Virginia Cavaliers ACC Championship (March 16, 1:00 PM EST)
Line: Duke Blue Devils (-1) at Virginia Cavaliers (+1)
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]After a close call against Clemson in the quarterfinal, Duke is back in the ACC tournament final thanks to a 75-67 win over North Carolina State in the semifinal. The Blue Devils are now 8-2 SU (but just 3-6-1 ATS) in their last 10 games.
Jabari Parker (19 PPG and 5.5 RPG) has been solid so far in the tournament, but the unsung hero for Duke has been Rasheed Sulaimon. The sophomore guard followed up his 14-point game off the bench against Clemson with a 16-point effort against NC State in a starting role.
Incidentally, Sulaimon was also the key to Duke’s 69-65 win over Virginia – one of the Cavs’ two conference losses – in their only meeting last January. With Parker struggling, Sulaimon supplied 21 points and four three-pointers off the bench for the Blue Devils, who are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games vs. Virginia.
Betting on the Virginia Cavaliers
The top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers are now one win away from their first conference tournament championship since 1976 after they easily disposed of Florida State 64-51 in the quarterfinal and held on to a 51-48 win over Pitt in the semis.
Leading scorer Malcolm Brogdon bounced back from a poor shooting night against the Seminoles (just 2-10 from the field and 1-7 for three) by scoring 10 points on 5-11 shooting against the Panthers. Brogdon went 6-13 for 17 points against Duke in January. Sixth man Anthony Gill has also provided some much needed offense from the Cavalier bench, with 26 points in two tournament games.
Virginia is now 15-1 SU and an equally impressive 11-4-1 ATS in its last 16 games. The Cavs are also 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings vs. Duke.
Prediction
Defense wins championships, and Virginia has the best defense in the ACC. Take the Cavaliers to prevail in a closely-contested final, covering +1.
Championship Week may be over, but March Madness is just about to get underway. Take part in all the drama and action all tournament long with Top Bet’s college basketball lines and odds.
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