North Carolina Tar Heels at Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview

The North Carolina Tar Heels (13-17, 6-13) take the short trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC, for an ACC showdown with the Duke Blue Devils (24-6, 14-5) on Saturday night. The Blue Devils enter this contest as a heavy favorite, laying 11 points at home with a posted total of 153.
Clicking their Tar Heels?
By no means is North Carolina a Cinderella program, but they have an opportunity to wear the proverbial slipper and play spoiler as the ACC regular season comes to a close. UNC began the season by winning their first five games, which included victories over Notre Dame and Alabama.
But things took a serious nosedive after that as the Tar Heels would endure losing streaks of four, five and seven as the season continued.
They snapped that seven-game skid on February 25 with a win over NC State, which was followed by wins over Syracuse and Wake Forest. A win on Saturday would close out their regular-season slate with four straight wins, their best streak since that five-gamer tipped off the year.
Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, North Carolina has already been guaranteed a spot in Tuesday’s ACC Tournament as one of the bottom four seeds.
Blue (Devil) Blood
In a season lathered in unpredictability, Duke has primarily maintained residence in the Top 10. However, entering Saturday’s clash, the Blue Devils find themselves ranked 12th in the country.
They do have an opportunity to grab a share of the ACC regular-season crown, and they could enter the conference tournament anywhere from the 2nd to the 4th seed. Duke’s win over NC State on Monday snapped a two-game slide, losing back-to-back road games against Wake Forest and Virginia.
As if a collision with the Tar Heels in the sport’s biggest rivalry wasn’t enough, it’s Senior Night in Cameron, as the school will honor Javin DeLaurier, Jack White and Justin Robinson.
Fans of this Tobacco Road rivalry could be in for a treat if the first meeting is any indication. UNC relinquished a lead late in regulation, and another in overtime, as a Wendell Moore Jr. putback propelled the Blue Devils to the improbable 98-96 win.
Nine players tallied double figures in the first matchup on February 8, led by Tre Jones’ 28 and Cole Anthony‘s 24. It was Anthony’s third game back after returning from knee surgery, and he has scored at least 15 points in every game since coming back.
Free Betting Pick
Vegas predicts a high-scoring affair for this regular-season finale, respecting the team’s performance the first time around. But an 11-point line demonstrates little respect to the visitors here despite their recent performances.
The oddsmakers know that an unranked Carolina team hasn’t won in Cameron since March 1990. Duke went on to the National Championship that year, losing to UNLV before capturing back-to-back titles in 1991 and ’92. The Blue Devils have aspirations of a similar run this year, but 11 is too many for a rivalry this big. Duke wins, but UNC covers the number.