March Madness is nearly upon us, but first we have to get some marquee matchups out of the way, including this Monday’s NC State Wolfpack road trip to Durham to face the 7th ranked Duke Blue Devils. Sure, Duke is a heavy favorite in the up and coming tournament, priced at +950 to win the Championship compared to NC State’s long odds of +20,000, but lets not forget what happened the last time these two met just a couple of weeks ago. NC State won the recent meeting by 22-points! Duke has indeed showed weakness of late and NC State is looking to capitalize once again. Will they pull off another upset, if you can call it that?
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Betting Preview for the NC State Wolfpack vs Duke Blue Devils NCAA College Basketball Game on March 2 2020
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
When: Monday, March 2, 2020, 7:00 PM ET
Line: NC State Wolfpack (Odds) vs. Duke Blue Devils (Odds) – view all 2020 NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the NC State Wolfpack (18-11 Overall / 9-9 Conference)
NC State evened up its conference record and is heading into March with some momentum after taking down the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday, winning 77-73. Four players (nearly five) ended up in double digits, led by guard C.J. Bryce and forward Jericole Hellems who both put in 16-points. They have a lot to feel good about going into Monday’s ACC matchup.
On February 19 when NC State snapped Duke’s seven-game winning streak by winning 88-66 they extended their record against the Blue Devils to 2-0 at home under coach Kevin Keatts. They see no reason why they can’t extend that to 3-0 by stealing a win in Durham territory. In that fateful February game the Wolfpack decimated their opponent from 3-point range, shooting a whopping 61.5% from beyond the arc, backed by 45.1% from the field. NC State also out-rebounded Duke 51-43 and forced 3 more turnovers to add insult to injury. If only Duke stars had been injured they would have had an excuse, but they did not. NC State had a chip on its shoulder and dominated because of it.
On the road so far this season, NC State is 6-5 against the spread (ATS) but just 7-10 overall after a win, covering only 41.2% of the time.
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils (23-6 Overall / 13-5 Conference)
Duke played the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday in a terribly low scoring affair that dealt Duke its third loss in February. Virginia beat them 52-50. Yes, that’s the final score, not the halftime tally. Center Vernon Carey Jr. is the only Blue Devil that can escape complete embarrassment, with a double-double that counted 17-points and 11 rebounds.
It’s somewhat curious that Duke maintains its second-favorite status to win the 2020 Championship. That said, they share that distinction with Gonzaga and Baylor who are also priced at +950 (at press) to win the Tournament. But still, they have clearly shown vulnerability, which was never more evident this season than in their loss to NC State in February. 23.5% from 3-point range, 37.7% from the field, 45.4% from the line, 13 turnovers, and being out-rebounded by 8 boards does not a Champion make. But that’s just one game, right? Nope. After their recent 113-101 loss to freakin’ Wake Forest and mortifying 52-50 defeat at the hands of Virginia something is clearly wrong with Durham’s squad.
Duke absolutely has to make an example of NC State this Monday. Their February loss to the Wolfpack was the most lopsided one for Duke to an unranked team in four decades under coach Mike Krzyzewski. Don’t think for one second that Krzyzewski will let that happen again.
At home this season, Duke is 8-7 ATS, and is 2-2 ATS after a loss, covering 50% of the time.
Writer’s Prediction
Duke puts the past month behind them and wins 83-75.
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