North Carolina at Duke: Basketball Picks & Odds

Written February 11, 2009 by Jay Horne

north-carolina-duke-basketball-021109 Eight miles of Tobacco Road separate one of the most hated and intense rivalries in the history of college basketball. Even if you do not keep up with or watch basketball, you have most likely heard of the rivalry between the North Carolina Tarheels and the Duke Blue Devils. These two schools represent what the majority of America calls the biggest rivalry in College Basketball and among the biggest rivalries in sports. A short ten minute drive separates the two campuses, but you could not attempt to measure the animosity in that short distance. Starting back in 1920, the Carolina-Duke rivalry is among the biggest sporting spectacles today and these two schools will rekindle the flame this Wednesday night live from Cameron Indoor Stadium at the home of the Duke Blue Devils. North Carolina is favored by 1.5 points at Duke tonight.

No. 3 North Carolina and No. 6 Duke are tied at a 7-2 mark in the ACC and after Wednesday night we will have a clear leader. The Blue Devils have really struggled over the last few games and North Carolina will be ready to attack when they roll into Durham, NC Wednesday night. North Carolina represents one of the highest scoring offenses in America ranking 2nd in the country with 92.3 points per game. However, the Tarheels will be squaring off with the conference’s top scoring defense in the Blue Devils. The Tarheels have been on a roll winning 7 straight games while climbing in the polls to the nations number 3 ranking and they will attempt to keep the momentum alive in Durham on Wednesday night.

Duke on the other hand has really struggled in the last few games. A little over a week ago the Blue Devils were the number 1 ranked team in America, but since that point they have lost two games to Wake Forest and Clemson while barely escaping an overtime thriller to Miami on Saturday. The Blue Devils lead the ACC in scoring defense holding to teams to only 61 points per game, but they are likely to have an extremely difficult task in holding the Tarheels to those types of numbers. Duke will need to come out with some strong defense and hit down some shots on Wednesday night considering they have not played well in recent games and will host one of the most talented teams in the country by the way of North Carolina. If you want to take the Blue Devils, BetUS has Duke +2 right now.

North Carolina is led by former Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough who also leads the ACC in scoring this season with 22.1 points per contest. Hansbrough also had a nice double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds in the Tarheels last victorious outing against Virginia on Saturday. The Tarheels as a team are amongst the most talented lineups in all of America with 6 guys in double figures. Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will give the Tarheels an advantage in the backcourt as they are two very lethal threats that can change the outcome of a game on any giving night. Who will step up this Wednesday night when the Tarheels go out in search of their 5 victory in the last 6 meetings against the Blue Devils?

Duke was held to one of the lowest scoring totals in recent history last Wednesday when they were completely shut down by the Clemson Tigers in a blowout loss 74-47. The Blue Devils must find a way to score some point this Wednesday night if they plan on keeping up with the fast pace scoring threat of North Carolina. The Blue Devils trailed Miami by 16 points early in the 2nd half on Saturday before receiving some big help from junior Gerald Henderson to mount the comeback. Henderson has really played well in the last month and has nearly passed Kyle Singler for the team lead in points with both players averaging 15 points. Henderson and Singler will both need big performances on Wednesday considering they have really carried the Blue Devil scoring all season.

Pick - Take UNC-1.5

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One Response to “North Carolina at Duke: Basketball Picks & Odds”

BettorFan Fantasy Sports Betting on February 11th, 2009 4:06 pm

I like UNC even at -2. I’m rolling with them tonight. Let’s hope for a good match.

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