Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game as head coach of the Duke Blue Devils is set to go down Saturday night in front of what’s expected to be a raucous Cameron Indoor Stadium. Fans, alumni and thrill seekers have ponied up big money to see Coach K coach his final game in front of the “Cameron Crazies.” And isn’t it fitting his final go of it comes against the hated North Carolina Tar Heels whom he owns a career 49-46 SU record against after his kids went into the Dean Dome and hammered the Heels 87-67 as 3.5-point online sportsbook favorites back on February 5. Though UNC enters this tilt on a bit of a roll having rattled off four straight wins (3-1 ATS), Hubert Davis’s kids were simply overmatched in the first go round. On top of that, the Dookies are on a bit of a heater themselves having logged seven straight wins of their own since falling by a point to Virginia at home in early February. It recently avenged that loss in Charlottesville and has been steamrolling recent opposition. Put it all together, and the Blue Devils will be laying an inflated number that I’ll be looking to fade in this historic game.
Take this ACC battle in live on ESPN at 6 p.m. ET from Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, March 5, 2022. BookMaker.eu will have NCAA basketball odds available for this and every game lined up for Saturday’s loaded college basketball slate.
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Odds Analysis
The Tar Heels will be looking to put their best foot forward knowing that a win could earn them the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament dependent upon how Notre Dame’s final two games play out. A loss paired with the Miami Hurricanes winning out would see them fall all the way to No. 4. As it is, UNC has won seven of its 10 played true road games and covered the closing CBB odds at a 5-4-1 ATS clip; all but three of those matchups played to a high scorer with an average of 155 points scored. As for the Dookies, they’ve already locked down the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC tourney and still remain in the hunt for a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance. The Blue Devils have been upended twice through 17 home games with the two defeats to Virginia and Miami coming by an average of just 1.5 points per game. They’re 8-6-3 ATS as hosts with the under cashing in nine times.
North Carolina Tar Heels
Since dropping an unforgivable 76-67 decision to the PITT Panthers as decided 13.5-point home favorites, the Tar Heels have rattled off four straight wins against @Virginia Tech, Louisville, @NC State, and Syracuse. The latest against the Orange came in overtime where it also managed to cover the closing 8-point spread in the 88-79 win. OU transfer Brady Manek has really turned into a steady performer for the Heels. His 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting that included three long range makes helped lead North Carolina to its 22nd win of the season. He was the only player to have a big game against Duke in the first meeting, and his scoring prowess will be sorely needed in this one as well as readily able the Blue Devils made mincemeat of their defense in the 20 point defeat.
Duke Blue Devils
This is going to be an emotional night for the Duke Basketball program. It’ll be interesting to see how their young team reacts. Regardless, the Blue Devils are starting to look like a team that has the intestinal fortitude to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. The current win streak has them clocking in as the No. 5 team in the country per KenPom.com as well as a 12-1 choice to cut down the nets in early April. Only Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona and Purdue have shorter odds to do so. Duke will enter this tilt off an 86-56 massacre of Pittsburgh. The showing was a game removed from throttling Syracuse 97-72 as 7.5-point road favorites. In other words, Paulo Banchero and his mates are currently locked in which should have everyone in the country on red alert when standing in their way.
Betting Prediction
I took the points with the Tar Heels in the first meeting between these hated rivals. I was forced to rip the ticket up from the word go. Duke got out to an insane 31-8 lead, and then bolted out of the second half with a 12-0 run after NC made a run at the tail end of the first to make the score a bit more respectable. The Blue Devils simply couldn’t miss. They shot 58 percent from the floor and drained 9-of-19 shots from beyond the arc. AJ Griffin came from out of nowhere with his biggest game of the season by scoring 27 points, while Banchero’s 10 rebounds allowed for the Dookies to dominate the battle of the boards 36-13. It couldn’t have gone any better for Duke who made a mockery of the fact that they were only two possession favorites. As such, linemakers will have no choice but to adjust for the rematch. It wouldn’t shock me if they open as 10+ point favorites! Should that prove to be the case, hit the visitors pre-game and also look to hit the Heels for the first half. I got a feeling nerves get to Duke early on which allows the Tar Heels to let the “Cameron Crazies” know the second skirmish won’t remotely resemble the first.
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