North Carolina Tar Heels at Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview/Prop Pick

This is a big weekend for college basketball, but one game will stand out above all else. The Duke Blue Devils host the North Carolina Tar Heels in the final home game for head coach Mike Krzyzewski. 

North Carolina comes into this game with an overall record of 22-8, but the Tar Heels are still on the bubble for making the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels have won four straight games, and they are coming into this game with some momentum. 

Duke is 26-4 on the year, and they could be playing for a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils haven’t always been dominant this season, but they are usually good enough on most nights.

The Duke Blue Devils are 11.5-point betting favorites on Saturday night against North Carolina. 

Tar Heels Lighting it Up

North Carolina is a team averaging 78 points per game this season, but they have actually been much more explosive than that in recent games. The Tar Heels are averaging 86 points per game over their last two contests, and this team isn’t afraid to play fast.

Forward Armando Bacot has been a superstar for the Tar Heels this season as he leads the team with 16.4 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. North Carolina will need to make shots around Bacot, but they are shooting just 45 percent on the year.

Getting stops could be a big issue in this one, as North Carolina gave up 87 points to the Blue Devils in the first meeting of the season. 

Freshman Phenom Carrying Duke

Coach K has had plenty of freshmen superstars leading his program through the years, but he might be ending his career with one of his best. Paolo Banchero has been sensational, and he will look to end the season on a high note.

Banchero is averaging 16.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this season, and he seems to be getting better as the year moves on. The Blue Devils are scoring over 80 points per game this season, and they won’t be afraid to play fast with the Tar Heels.

Duke was dominant on defense in the first meeting between the rivals, allowing just 67 points in that game. The Blue Devils are holding opponents to just 65 points per game, and that has carried them during this seven-game winning streak. 

Blue Devils Blow Out the Tar Heels

This game has been known to deliver some classics through the years, but this just isn’t a good matchup for North Carolina. The Tar Heels had trouble scoring against Duke at home earlier this year, and the same will be true on Saturday night.

There are going to be plenty of distractions facing the Blue Devils on Saturday, but they are just much more talented. Duke might get off to a slow start, but they are going to roll over UNC in the second half. 

Bet the Duke Blue Devils -11.5 as they cruise to a win over their ACC rivals.

Prop Pick

North Carolina (-120) UNDER 70.5 Points

Duke is allowing 65.1 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 58 in the nation. That average decreases to 64.5 points per game at home. Scores have gone UNDER in five of the Blue Devils’ last 10 games versus North Carolina.

With Dunkel predicting a Duke victory by the score of 83-64, take the Tar Heels (-105) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 70.5 points against the Blue Devils.

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