The Duke Blue Devils have gotten off to a slow start in ACC play, and if they have designs of competing for the conference’s best record, they will really need to turn it on down the stretch. Their next attempt will be against the Miami Hurricanes.
Duke is at home in this one and should be a strong favorite. The ACC is stacked with solid teams so the Blue Devils can’t afford many more losses during the rest of the regular season.
Duke has looked really good at times this year and not so good at other times. If the Blue Devils want a high seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, they need to start playing better. That could begin with an easy win over the Hurricanes.
At 8:15 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, January 21, 2017, at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Odds at BookMaker.eu
Duke is 14-4 straight up and 7-10 against the spread. The Blue Devils have played eight home games and have covered in half of them. Duke has been the favorite in every game but two this season and has gone 7-8 against the spread when giving points.
Miami is 12-4 straight up but only 5-10 against the spread. The Hurricanes have gone on the road three times this season and have covered twice, which is a much better record than at home. Miami has been the underdog only twice this season and has covered once and failed to do so once.
Player to Watch
Davon Reed – The sophomore guard is the second leading scorer for Miami this year, and he’s on a hot streak right now. Reed is averaging 14.7 points a game this season for the Hurricanes.
He tied his season-high against No. 20 Notre Dame on January 12th, putting up 21 points in the 67-62 loss. He also scored 18 points against Pitt on January 14th.
Reed has put up 18 points or more in four of the last five games heading into this week. He seems to be hitting his stride and will look to continue that against Duke this week. Miami does not score as much as the Blue Devils, and while the defense will be the biggest key, the Hurricanes need some players to step up.
Reed is one of the more likely players who will have a big game. If he does, it will give the Hurricanes confidence that they can pull off this upset.
Key Stat
2-3. That’s Duke’s record over the last five games and the Blue Devils enter this matchup on a two-game skid. Before the team’s loss to Virginia Tech on December 31st, Duke had a record of 12-1 but now the team is 14-4.
The Blue Devils faced two tough teams last week, falling to No. 9 Florida State on January 10th and then to No. 14 Louisville on January 14th. The team will certainly be eager for a win this week.
Duke started the season very strong with wins over Kansas and Florida, but has faltered lately. With five of the last ten games of the season coming against ranked opponents, the Blue Devils need this win against Miami to get things turned around now.
There have been a lot of hurdles this season, from the one-game suspension of Grayson Allen to the leave of coach Mike Krzyzewski because of a back issue. Duke will aim to put that behind it in this one.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
The Blue Devils have run into a bit of turbulence lately, but still have a lot of talent on the team. There are a bunch of upper-tier teams in the ACC nowadays, and there are guaranteed to be more losses on the schedule, but Duke should be able to pull this one out.
The Hurricanes play really well defensively, but Duke still has the skill to hit some big shots down the stretch to survive and pick up this win.
College Basketball Odds: Duke 74, Miami 71
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