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Appalachian State Mountaineers at Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview

Thursday evening features a David versus Goliath battle as the Appalachian State Mountaineers (6-5) square off with the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (8-1). The Blue Devils will host this one at Cameron Indoor Stadium, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.

Out of the Sunbelt Conference, the Mountaineers have played relatively well as of late, winning three of their last four. In their last game, they took down Erskine 69-44.

In the win, Donovan Gregory led the way with 16 points, five rebounds, and two assists. The Mountaineers had six players who scored six points or more in the win.

While the Blue Devils were disappointed to lose to No. 15 Ohio State, coach Mike Krzyzewski’s crew is still one of the top teams in the country. They recently took down South Carolina State 103-62.

The Blue Devils had six players score in double digits, including AJ Griffin, who had 19 points to lead all scorers.

The Blue Devils are the overwhelming favorites in this one. They are -4500 to win while the Mountaineers’ moneyline sits at +1600. The spread features Appalachian State +20.5 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 139.5.

More Odds

Duke currently has the second-best odds of winning the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship this season at +850.

By The Numbers

Duke has had one of the best offenses in the nation this season. They currently rank seventh in scoring averaging 85.3 points per game (89.8 at home). The Mountaineers rank 282nd, averaging 63.8 points per game.

Defensively, Appalachian State is actually ranked higher. They rank 66th in scoring defense, allowing 64.5 points per game. The Blue Devils rank 77th, allowing 65 points per game (60.3 at home).

Appalachian State Looking For Major Upset

Appalachian State already had their work cut out for them going against the No. 2 team in the nation, but the task of pulling off an upset is made even tougher by the fact they have to do it on the road.

Duke is undefeated at Cameron Stadium, so it will take quite an upset for the Mountaineers to pull out a victory.

Leading the way for Appalachian State is senior guard Adrian Delph. This season, he is averaging 15.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and an assist per game. He is also shooting 40.9% from behind the arc.

Aside from Delph, other major contributors include Michael Almonacy (9.3 points, three rebounds, 2.5 assists), Justin Forrest (9.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists), and Donovan Gregory (8.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals).

Duke Looks To Start New Winning Streak

After rattling off seven wins in a row, including a win over then top-ranked Gonzaga, the Blue Devils took a bit of a step back as they were upset on the road by the Buckeyes. After winning against SC State on Tuesday, the Blue Devils will look to get another winning streak rolling Thursday.

The Blue Devils are led by a pair of phenomenal forwards in freshman Paolo Banchero and junior Wendell Moore Jr.

Banchero is averaging 17.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Not to be outdone, Moore is averaging 17 points, six rebounds, five assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 56.7% from the field.

Freshman Trevor Keels is also averaging double digits as the guard is putting up 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and two steals per game.

Other contributors for Duke include Mark Williams (9.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 blocks) and Jeremy Roach (9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.6 steals).

Take Duke To Win And Cover

As amazing of a story that an Appalachian State upset would be, it is hard to envision a scenario where the Mountaineers even remotely stick around in this one.

Frankly, Duke is just too deep and too talented for Appalachian State to keep up, and this one could get out of hand early.

Take the Blue Devils to not only win and home but to cover the massive 20.5-point spread as well.

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