You can probably make a case for a few rivalries being the best in college football. Maybe Auburn-Alabama or Michigan-Ohio State or Army-Navy or a few others. However, in NCAA basketball there’s just no argument. It’s Duke-North Carolina, and the No. 8 Tar Heels are solid NCAAB odds underdogs at the No. 1 Blue Devils on Wednesday night. These two teams are looking really solid in the 2019 March Madness odds, so remember to check them out before the tournament starts!
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How to Bet North Carolina vs Duke NCAAB Odds & TV Info
“A single shade of blue…” 🔵😈 pic.twitter.com/7vHpKWxquC
— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) 20 de febrero de 2019
- When: Wednesday, 9 PM ET
- Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- NCAAB Odds: Duke Blue Devils -9 (Total 166.5)
Rutgers vs Michigan State NCAAB Spread & Betting Analysis
Season Series
First meeting. UNC won two of three last year. They split in the regular season, each winning at home. In the ACC Tournament semifinals, the Heels won 74-69 to reach the ACC title game for a record 35th time. Luke Maye scored 17 points, including North Carolina’s last field goal with 5:33 remaining, and the Tar Heels held off a big Duke rally. Maye hit a jumper to give North Carolina Tar Heels what seemed like a safe 72-56 lead.
But the Tar Heels went cold and got sloppy and second-seeded Duke went on a 13-0 run, drawing within three on Gray Trent Jr.’s 3 with 50 seconds left. However, the Blue Devils could never tie it. The Tar Heels beat their Tobacco Road rivals for the first time in the conference tournament since the 1998 championship game.
Carolina’s last victory over Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium was on March 5, 2016, when UNC won 76-72 to secure its first ACC regular-season title in four years.
Why Bet on UNC?
The Tar Heels made some history on Saturday in a 95-57 win at Wake Forest. The 38-point margin of victory was a school record, surpassing the previous highs of 34 points in league road games at Virginia and Virginia Tech during the 2004-05 season. It also marked the most lopsided win by either team in the longtime in-state series, as well as Wake Forest’s worst loss in their Joel Coliseum home of nearly three decades.The Tar Heels ran out to leads of 18-0, 25-3 and 35-7. They shot 74 percent in the opening half. Carolina made 16 three-pointers, which ties the season high (also vs. Virginia Tech) and equals the second most in UNC history. This was the fifth time this season UNC has made 13 or more threes in a game.
Carolina shot a season-high 62.3 percent from the floor (previous high was 56.1 in the home win over NC State). It was the highest since UNC shot 65.5 percent against Tulane last season. Carolina made 16 of 25 three-pointers to shoot 64 percent, which ties the third-highest percentage in a game in UNC history and is the highest in any road game in UNC history.
Cameron Johnson led all scorers with 27 points, his seventh 20-point game of the season and the 10th time he led UNC in scoring. Johnson set a career high with seven three-pointers (he made six five previous times). UNC is 18-2 when Johnson makes multiple threes and 11-0 when he makes at least three in a game this season.
Carolina is now 20-5 overall and 10-2 in the ACC and has clinched a winning record in ACC play for the 14th time under Roy Williams and the 59th time in 65 seasons of ACC Basketball. UNC is now 6-0 in ACC road games this year, the 12th time in Williams’ 16 seasons UNC has posted a winning record on the road in ACC play.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 87.48
- Field Goal Percentage: 47.44
- Three-Point Percentage: 38.51
- Free Throw Percentage: 74.18
- Total Rebounds: 42.52
- Total Score: 73.28
- Field Goal Percentage: 42.00
- Three-Point Percentage: 33.76
- Free Throw Percentage: 68.44
- Total Rebounds: 33.04
Why Bet on Duke?
Duke won its ninth in a row Saturday, 94-78, over NC State and moved to No. 1 because Tennessee lost at Kentucky. Duke overcame 19 percent shooting from 3-point range by building a 44-26 rebounding advantage and scoring 22 points off N.C. State’s 12 turnovers.
Freshman RJ Barrett had Duke’s first triple-double in 13 years, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. It was Duke’s first triple-double since Shelden Williams (19 points, 11 rebounds, 10 blocks) versus Maryland in 2006 and only the second triple-double by a Duke freshman (Gene Banks 13 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists vs. Lehigh in 1978) and the second triple-double in the Coach Mike Krzyzewski era. Barrett is sixth on Duke’s freshman scoring list — 127 points shy of the Duke freshman scoring record.
Barrett had a career-high 10 assists against no turnovers. It is Barrett’s 18th 20-point game this season to lead the ACC and ties him with Jabari Parker for most 20-point games by a freshman at Duke. Freshman Zion Williamson scored a game-high 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting in 29 minutes, his third 30-point game this season.
The Blue Devils improved to 11-1 in ACC play, their best start to an ACC season since beginning the 2010-11 season 12-1 in conference play. Duke is 230-147 versus ranked teams under Coach K, including 85-47 versus ranked ACC teams.
Duke has won seven of the last 11 in this series and is 46-42 versus North Carolina with Krzyzewski as head coach. The Blue Devils are playing as the No. 1 team in the rivalry for the 17th time, and first since 2005-06. The game marks the 46th AP top 10 matchup in series history.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 86.44
- Field Goal Percentage: 48.58
- Three-Point Percentage: 31.28
- Free Throw Percentage: 68.34
- Total Rebounds: 42.16
- Total Score: 66.12
- Field Goal Percentage: 39.18
- Three-Point Percentage: 29.74
- Free Throw Percentage: 69.11
- Total Rebounds: 35.04
North Carolina vs Duke NCAAB Betting Trends
- Under is 3-0-1 in the last 4 meetings in Duke
- Road team is 17-7-1 ATS in the last 25 meetings
- North Carolina is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
- North Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of North Carolina’s last 6 games on the road
- Duke is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
- Duke is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Duke’s last 16 games at home
Expert NCAAB Betting Prediction
Duke wins by 10.
