The Duke Blue Devils’ chance of earning a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament seems to be going up in smoke. Duke has hit a rut of late and now needs a strong finish to get back into that conversation. They hope to bounce back next time out in a roag game against the middling Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
While the Blue Devils have not been playing great of late, they are still the vastly superior team and will be sizable favorites to win this game. Georgia Tech has played pretty well at home lately and is hoping to put a scare into Duke as well in this matchup.
At 6 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Sunday, February 11, 2018, at the McCamish Pavilion.
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Odds Analysis
Duke is 19-5 straight up and 13-10 against the spread. The Blue Devils have covered in half of their eight road games on the season. Duke is 12-9 against the spread as the favorite on the season. The Blue Devils were a rare underdog last time out in a loss to North Carolina but will return to favored status against the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech is 11-13 straight up and 10-12 against the spread on the season. The Yellow Jackets are 7-6 against the spread at home this season and have covered in five of 11 attempts as the underdog.
Key Stat
Three. That’s how many losses Duke has suffered in its past four games, which has dropped it into the middle of the pack in the ACC. The Blue Devils’ loss to North Carolina last time out wasn’t a horrible one since it came on the road, but it will likely be enough to drop the team out of the top-10.
Duke is running out of time to make a legitimate run at a No. 1 seed and will likely need to win out to be in the consideration. The Blue Devils’ swoon of late began with a loss at home to No. 2 Virginia and was followed up by a bad loss to St. John’s.
The Blue Devils are one of the most talented teams in college basketball but haven’t played great lately. This is a chance to right the ship in style.
Player to Watch
Josh Okogie —It has been a trying season for Georgia Tech’s best player. The sophomore guard was suspended for the first six games of the season for accepting impermissible benefits and then fractured his finger, which kept him out for another stretch.
He has played 15 games this season but is healthy and active now and will be the team’s best chance at hanging around against Duke. Okogie is averaging 18.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest.
He had 25 points and 10 rebounds last time out but the team was blown out by Louisville. That has been the theme this season, as Okogie has not had a lot of help on offense and the Yellow Jackets have struggled on defense.
Okogie likely needs to dominate in this matchup.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
Duke should be able to break out of its funk in a big way. The Blue Devils have much better players than Georgia Tech and should be able to run away with this win. It’s never easy winning on the road, but Duke’s massive advantage in personnel will be overwhelming.
The Blue Devils will be a healthy favorite and they still may be able to cover the spread. The “over” should be considered on the scoring total as Duke could really out the pedal to the metal throughout this contest.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: Duke 92, Georgia Tech 74
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