North Carolina (20-5) at Duke (23-2)
When: Wednesday, February 20th, 2019
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium,
Durham, North Carolina
Time: 9:00 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: Duke -11/169
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The North Carolina Tar Heels have a chance to forge a three-way tie atop the ACC standings, but they’ll have to do it against their biggest rival, on the road against the Duke Blue Devils. The Tobacco Road foes meet for the first time this season in a pivotal matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium with Duke being the newly-minted No. 1 team in the country, while the Tar Heels come in at No. 9. The Blue Devils have reeled-off nine consecutive wins and took over the top spot in the nation when Tennessee’s 19-game winning streak came to an end at Kentucky. Freshman RJ Barrett did something that no Duke player has done in 13 years – record a triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds and a season-best 10 assists in the Blue Devils’ 94-78 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday. North Carolina has been flying under the radar a bit with Duke getting all the national attention, but they’re right in the race. The Tar Heels bounced back from a home loss to second-place Virginia to post a 95-57 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday. North Carolina is a perfect 6-0 on the road in ACC play and lead the conference in scoring at 87.5 points per game. North Carolina leads the all-time series 96-83 after winning two of three last season including beating Duke in the semifinals of the ACC tournament.
North Carolina’s 38-point win at Wake Forest was their largest margin of victory on the road in conference play in their storied program, as nearly everyone contributed. Senior guard and leading scorer Cameron Johnson (16.3 points per game) led the way with 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including 7-of-10 from long range, as 13 Tar Heels recorded points in the blowout victory. Luke Maye and Coby White each added 10 points and North Carolina shot 62.3 percent from the floor, including 74.1 percent in the first half, and 64 percent from the 3-point line. The Tar Heels will follow this game up with a visit from the surging Florida State Seminoles on Saturday.
Probable No. 1 NBA Draft pick Zion Williamson poured in 32 points against N.C. State and is now averaging 22.4 points a game, trailing Barrett (22.7) for the team and ACC lead in that category. Duke’s ability to dominate the boards is one reason why they are so good, just as they did against the Wolfpack (44-26). The Blue Devils are second in the conference at 42.2 rebounds per game, just behind North Carolina’s 42.5 – a matchup to watch. Tre Jones added 13 points against N.C. State as the Blue Devils were able to score 94 despite shooting an un-Duke like 3-of-16 from the 3-point line.
I know Duke is the best team in the country for sure, but should they be favored by this much over North Carolina? The line opened at 11, but the sharps quickly bet it down to 9 as of Tuesday afternoon. I’m willing to ride with the smart money on this one in a rivalry game. Give me the points.
Pick: North Carolina +9
Tar Heels are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Tar Heels are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 road games.
Tar Heels are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points.
Tar Heels are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Tar Heels are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Tar Heels are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.
Tar Heels are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
Tar Heels are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 vs. Atlantic Coast.
Tar Heels are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following a straight up win.
Tar Heels are 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game.
Blue Devils are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Blue Devils are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 Wednesday games.
Blue Devils are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
Under is 4-0 in Tar Heels last 4 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points.
Under is 5-1 in Tar Heels last 6 road games.
Under is 5-1 in Tar Heels last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Under is 8-2 in Tar Heels last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Under is 4-1 in Tar Heels last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Over is 7-2 in Tar Heels last 9 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game.
Under is 11-4 in Tar Heels last 15 overall.
Under is 5-2-1 in Tar Heels last 8 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Under is 12-5 in Tar Heels last 17 vs. Atlantic Coast.
Under is 7-3 in Tar Heels last 10 games following a ATS win.
Under is 6-1 in Blue Devils last 7 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game.
Under is 6-1 in Blue Devils last 7 Wednesday games.
Under is 5-1 in Blue Devils last 6 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Under is 6-2 in Blue Devils last 8 overall.
Under is 15-5-2 in Blue Devils last 22 games following a straight up win.
Under is 20-8-1 in Blue Devils last 29 home games.
Under is 5-2 in Blue Devils last 7 vs. Atlantic Coast.
Under is 5-2-1 in Blue Devils last 8 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Under is 3-0-1 in the last 4 meetings in Duke.
Under is 5-2-1 in the last 8 meetings.
Tar Heels are 15-6 ATS in the last 21 meetings in Duke.
Road team is 17-7-1 ATS in the last 25 meetings.
