And they meet again. The Virginia Tech Hokies were among just the four teams that beat the Duke Blue Devils in the regular season. They will look to double up on the ACC tournament champions this Friday in an all-ACC Sweet 16 matchup. Will the Hokies upset Duke again? Or will the Blue Devils get their way and cruise into the Elite 8 round? Duke’s close-call on Sunday hasn’t changed their prospects to win the 2019 national tournament, as the sportsbook favors them with +250 odds to win it all, while Virginia Tech is priced at +3500.
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Betting Preview for the Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Duke Blue Devils College Basketball Game on March 29, 2019
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington
When: Friday, March 29, 2019, 9:39 PM ET
Line: Virginia Tech Hokies (+7.5) vs. Duke Blue Devils (-7.5) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Virginia Tech Hokies (26-8 Overall / 12-6 Conference)
The Hokies blasted Cinderella’s pumpkin ride in the second round, as they downed the upset-seeking Liberty Flames, 67-58. Liberty brought a three-point lead into the half, but the Hokies awakened in the second half and made life hard for the Flames on offense and on defense. Virginia Tech got 19 points from Kerry Blackshear, who also had nine rebounds with six coming off the offensive glass. The Hokies played a fast-paced game, which resulted into more shots, as evidenced by their 57 shot attempts to just 47 by Liberty. The Hokies will have some extra-confidence coming into another showdown with Duke, having defeated the Blue Devils 77-72 late in conference play last February. Virginia Tech got massive contribution from Blackshear to defeat Duke, as the forward had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Although the Blue Devils didn’t have Zion Williamson, the Hokies were also missing Justin Robinson then due to a left foot injury. Robinson, who is Virginia’s all-time leader in assists, had 13 points and four dimes in the Liberty game.
The under is 4-0 in the Hokies’ last four games.
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils (31-5 Overall / 14-4 Conference)
For the first time in the tournament, the Blue Devils looked beatable, as they had to rely on some lucky bounces and misfortunes of the UCF Knights to eke out a 77-76 win in the second round. Knights’ big man Tacko Fall made it harder than usual for Williamson to get easy buckets at the rim. He will not have to worry about a 7-foot-6 giant in the next game, though, and that is going to be a big plus for Duke, which shot 18-for-29 inside the arc in the aforementioned loss to Virginia Tech. Expect that line to be better in the rematch with Williamson around to punish the Hokies’ interior defense. Williamson had 32 points and 11 rebounds in an another masterful performance in the UCF game. Williamson should also boost Duke’s rebounding. The Blue Devils had a slim 29-28 advantage on the glass in the February meeting with the Hokies. Duke can sometimes have rough stretches but the team always make up for it with their sheer overall talent. RJ Barrett and Cameron Reddish combined for 38 points in the loss to the Hokies.
The under is 3-1 in Duke’s last four games. The Blue Devils cover exactly 50% of the time this season, going 18-18 ATS overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Duke wins, 79-72.
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