The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils have control of their destiny in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as far as their chances to win the league’s regular title is concerned. The Virginia Tech Hokies, meanwhile, need to win against Duke and at least another against the Louisville Cardinals down the road to get considered for an at-large berth in March Madness. The Blue Devils and the Hokies are +900 and +10000 to win the national title, respectively.
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Betting Preview for the Virginia Tech Hokies vs Duke Blue Devils NCAA College Basketball Game on February 22 2020
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
When: Saturday, February 22, 2020, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Virginia Tech Hokies (Odds) vs. Duke Blue Devils (Odds) – view all 2020 NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Virginia Tech Hokies (15-10 Overall / 6-8 Conference)
The Hokies stopped their bleeding with a 67-57 win at home over the Pittsburgh Panthers last Saturday. Before that, the Hokies were on a tailspin, losing five games in a row, including a gut-wrenching 77-73 home loss to the Boston College Eagles on Feb. 8. The Hokies live and die with the three-ball and against the Panthers, that philosophy favored them, as they hit 12 of their 32 shots from deep, while Pittsburgh only had five 3-pointers. The Hokies lost at home to Duke last December, 77-63, in a game in which Virginia Tech’s outside shooting didn’t click. The Hokies went just 5 of 20 from long range, but they had the lead at the half, thanks to a hot start that saw them sink 10 of 14 shots to start the game. The Hokies don’t turn the ball over often relatively speaking, as they are averaging just 9.8 turnovers per game–third-fewest in the nation–but they coughed the ball up 14 times in the Duke game. If the Hokies can cut their errors down and get their usual touch from the outside, they could give Duke a bigger scare this time around.
The Hokies, who are 10th in the nation with 9.9 3-pointers per contest, are 4-5-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 10 contests away from home.
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils (22-3 Overall / 12-2 Conference)
Duke destroyed the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at home last Saturday, 94-60. The Blue Devils didn’t leave much of a chance on the table for Notre Dame, which had a hard time trying to stop Vernon Carey Jr. The Blue Devils center put up 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, while guard Tre Jones scored 19 points and dished out six assists to go with seven rebounds. The duo was also largely the reason why Duke won over the Hokies last December. Jones had 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists in that game, while Carey had 12 points and five boards. The bench delivered for Duke, too, outscoring the Hokies’ second unit, 37-11. Duke simply has a deeper and overall more talented roster than the Hokies. Duke is one of only two teams in the nation ranked by KenPom inside the top 10 in offensive and defensive efficiency.
Duke, which is averaging 116 points per 100 possessions, had seen the total go over in five of its last six games at home.
Writer’s Prediction
Duke wins,77-61.
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