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Duke at North Carolina betting lines for ACC season finale

by —March 6, 2015 in All Sports, NCAA

Duke vs. UNC Gambling Lines - March 7th 2015#3 Blue Devils vs. #19 Tar Heels Preview

Tip-Off: Saturday, March 7th 2015 at 9:00pm ET
Location: Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill
Watch: ESPN

DUKE Blue Devils 27-3 (14-3 ACC) and North Carolina Tar Heels 21-9 (11-6 ACC) conclude their regular season schedule on Saturday night in Chapel Hill.

Virginia locked up the ACC already, which means this game doesn’t mean anything other than bragging rights. Duke came close to winning the ACC, but back-to-back losses in January killed that chance.

I doubt that either team will push the pace too hard with the ACC tournament and March Madness coming up. This is a game to work on some things before the big dance later in the month – not a game where you want to push your starters for 40 minutes.

Duke vs. UNC point spread, money line and game total

UPDATE:The point spread has opened up with the Tar Heels as a small favorite at home. We’re still waiting on the over/under to be released and I’ll update everyone once the total is out.

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The betting lines for Duke at UNC will be released by Friday night. I expect Duke to be favored by 1-2 points on the road. In February the Blue Devils hosted the Tar Heels and they ended up needing overtime to win the game by two points (92-90).

These teams know each other well and the rivalry between these two schools is hard to describe. UNC have an edge in the overall H2H series (133-106), but Duke are 4-1 in the series since 2013. However, this is a great opportunity for UNC to change that trend.

Blue Devils vs. Tar Heels gambling preview

The Blue Devils and Tar Heels are both teams that have a lot of talent this season. UNC have a poor record because of a few losses against teams they should have beaten. However, they’ve been battle tested due to playing the 3rd toughest schedule this year.

What concerns me about the Tar Heels is the fact they have a 1-5 record against top 25 opponents. UNC are competitive against the best teams in the nation, but they’ve been unable to win close games because they don’t play a lick of defense.

When you’re one of the best college basketball programs in the country and you rank outside of the top 200 in points allowed there is a big problem. The last time these teams met the Blue Devils shot 50.8% from the field and 62.5% from beyond the arc.

UNC can’t allow Duke to shoot the lights out again or they won’t stand a chance, even at Chapel Hill.

The way you beat Duke is by shutting down Jahlil Okafor, although that statement doesn’t always hold true, which was evident when these teams played last month. Okafor was held to 12 points and 13 rebounds in 41 minutes, which isn’t great production from him.

Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones picked up the slack for Okafor, as the two guards combined for 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

UNC are a balanced team and all five starters have similar stats on paper. Marcus Paige makes the offense click – he’s leading the team in points (13.2 PPG) and assists (4.4 APG). He struggled against Duke last time out, as he finished 2 of 11 from the field.

Duke vs. UNC predictions

Nothing will be confirmed until the odds come out, but the over is what I want to target in this game. Both teams allow a ton of points. Since this game doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things, this has the makings of a shootout.

The point spread and money line markets are tough to predict. We really don’t know how either team will play or if the benches will get more of a run. UNC won in a blowout on Tuesday night against Georgia Tech and 15 players played for the Tar Heels.

UNC beat Duke at Chapel Hill last season and I expect them to win at home again. They’ll be more motivated at home, as they don’t want to lose again to their bitter rival. However, I’m not going to bet on UNC unless the money line odds are around +150.

Both teams are looking forward to the NCAA basketball tournament and this game may go overlooked. In those situations it’s better to avoid the win markets. In a game that should easily have 170+ points, there is no better bet than on the over.

Duke starting line-up:

UNC starting line-up:

ScottThis article was written by Scott

Scott is one of the original degenerates working for MobileSportsBetting.com. Although he's most successful betting on NFL football and international soccer, he's also active in UFC and NHL hockey betting.


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