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The Pittsburgh Panthers are probably on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble heading into the new weeks, but their last chance before the ACC Tournament for a signature victory will come on Sunday against the Duke Blue Devils.
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SCHEDULING
We mention motivation all the time, but it's high for Pittsburgh for sure in this one. The team beat Syracuse and Wake last week to really start to rebound for the dance, and splitting home games against Louisville and Duke would be nice, especially with two potential banana peels to finish up the regular season at suddenly perky Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.
Duke has to feel pretty good about itself with its nice run to put a spot in the NCAA Tournament on lockdown. Live bettors would have to understand if the Dookies took this one off at times, knowing that this is the last road game of the season in and amongst three home games against FSU, Wake Forest and North Carolina to end the regular season.
KEY MATCHUP
It's not really a matchup we're looking out for here more than just the physicality of this game. Louisville really took it to Duke on Saturday night on a day where Matt Jones wasn't able to play because of an ankle injury. Derryck Thornton left the game with a shoulder problem and only came back in the last couple minutes in obvious pain because Grayson Allen fouled out.
Literally, the Blue Devils only have five healthy bodies right now. Nick Pagliuca would be next in line for minutes, but he's played a total of just 23 minutes in his three-year career. We expect both Thornton and Jones to be back in the lineup in this one to restore Duke's rotation to seven, but Louisville might've set the theme for live bettors to follow.
Pittsburgh is one of the most physical teams in the ACC, especially playing here at the Petersen Events Center. Michael Young, Jamel Artis and James Robinson all love to drive the lane and create contact largely due to the fact that they're all really good foul shooters. The Panthers shoot 76.1 percent from the charity stripe, and if they get there 30 times in this one, live bettors should know that Duke is going to be in a heck of a lot of trouble. Coach K literally doesn't have any warm bodies to bring off of his bench in a competitive game, and getting guys into foul trouble will create all sorts of mismatches to be exploited.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Pittsburgh has played four of its last five games under the total. Jamie Dixon doesn't mind low-scoring games, and he probably loved the way the team played in a 66-52 upset of Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Saturday. However, the offense for the Panthers has failed to exceed that mark of 66 in four of those five games, and that could be a real concern going forward in a game where getting to 70 might be a prerequisite to cover.
Duke has played four straight and six out of seven under the total as well largely thanks to the fact that its offense has been thinned out dramatically. The team hasn't scored more than 74 points in four basketball games in a row, though its defense has done a great job staying gritty as well keeping teams in the low-70s at most.
Though Duke got back on track with five wins in a row, the team is still just 4-6-1 ATS in its last 11 games overall.
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The Duke Blue Devils and Pittsburgh Panthers will square off Sunday, February 28, 2016, at 2:00 p.m. ET at the Petersen Events Center. The matchup will be televised live on CBS.
