The Duke Blue Devils need to keep winning if they want to have a shot at winning the ACC regular season title. Duke is two games behind Virginia in the race to win the ACC and has a pivotal tilt against the Cavaliers on Saturday. Assuming Duke can pick up that win, it needs to keep up the pressure by taking care of the other ACC teams on its schedule.
A loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish would be devastating. Notre Dame has not been the same team without Bonzie Colson, struggling to score without him in the lineup.
This war on the floor will go down Monday, January 29, 2018, at 7 p.m. ET at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Monday schedule.
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Notre Dame looked like it was going to be fine without Colson initially. The Irish were able to hammer NC State and knock off Syracuse without him, but have really missed his presence over the last couple weeks. They have now lost four in a row, failing to cover in all but one of those games.
Unsurprisingly, Notre Dame’s offensive numbers have taken a dip since Colson has been out. That has led to the under being a solid bet in recent weeks, going 5-2 over the team’s last seven games.
Duke has been dominant at home this season. The Blue Devils have yet to drop a game in Cameron Indoor, with only one team coming within single digits of Coach K’s squad. Duke has been hammering opponents since its loss to NC State. It is 4-1 ATS over its last five, with the lone loss being a 27-point victory over Pittsburgh in a game where Duke was favored by 29.
Earlier in the season, defense was an issue for the Blue Devils. However, they have performed better on this end over the last couple weeks. Under is 4-1 in their last five games, with Duke allowing 64.4 PPG in that timespan.
Player to Watch
Martinas Geben has done a tremendous job of stepping up following the injury to Colson. Colson was the team’s leading scorer and leading rebounder, and we were waiting to see if a new frontcourt presence would emerge in his absence. Fortunately for the Irish, Geben has emerged as more than just a role player in his senior season.
Geben has helped Notre Dame outrebound its opponent in six of its seven ACC games. That alone is an accomplishment considering how small this team is. Geben has been the main reason for that, pulling down almost 12 rebounds a game since Colson was injured. Additionally, he has done it without picking up fouls, finishing with four fouls or more in a game just once.
His shooting has been great too. Geben is currently hitting almost 62 percent of his field goals. Although Notre Dame is in a bit of a slump, Geben’s play has been solid.
Key Stat
Duke averages more points than any team in the country. The Blue Devils are putting up 91.7 PPG and have only finished with less than 80 points in a game once all season.
This team is a nightmare to defend against. They have the best inside-outside game in the nation with Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr. down low and two guards that can hit the three in Grayson Allen and Gary Trent Jr. That makes them really hard to beat unless you can outgun them.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Unfortunately for Notre Dame, it doesn’t have the guns to beat Duke. However, the Irish have a great chance to cover. They will be a double-digit underdog in this game and can do a good enough job on the boards to keep the Blue Devils from getting a lot of second chances. That will lead to a close loss for Notre Dame.
College Basketball Odds: Duke 86, Notre Dame 79
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