Wake Forest at Duke Lines, Free Pick & TV Info

Posted by Michael Hunt on Thursday,February 16, 2017 8:44, EDT in

NCAA Basketball News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

Could be a bit of a letdown game for No. 12 Duke on Saturday as the Blue Devils host Wake Forest. It should be a fairly easy Duke win and it will be solidly favored in college basketball betting, but Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team could be a bit flat off Wednesday’s big game at Virginia.

Wake Forest at Duke Lines, Free Pick & TV Info

Collins and Crawford score a combined 54 points, but the Deacs fall at Clemson 95-83

RECAP: https://t.co/sXizvQr7Px

— Wake Basketball (@TieDyeNation) February 15, 2017

When: Saturday, Feb. 18, 1 PM ET
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
TV: ACC Extra
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Wake Forest / Duke
Opening NCAAB Lines: Duke favored by TBA

Why Bet On Wake Forest?

The Demon Deacons are definitely on the NCAA Tournament bubble and Tuesday’s 95-83 loss at fellow bubble team Clemson won’t help matters at all. Despite scoring 51 second-half points and a career-best performance from sophomore John Collins, the Deacons couldn’t capitalize.

Wake Forest (15-11, 6-8 ACC) turned the ball over 10 times and allowed Clemson (14-11, 4-9) to shoot better than 59 percent from the field in the first half. The Deacons eventually fell behind by as many as 21 before dropping their sixth straight game in Littlejohn Coliseum.

“They delivered the first blow and got up big on us,” coach Danny Manning of Wake Forest said. “We kind of regrouped at halftime and came out and put up a much better effort and battle, but that hole we dug for ourselves in the first half was just too much to overcome.”

Collins had a career-best 29 points, shot 12-of- 14 from the field and a perfect 5-for- 5 from the free throw line. The 29 points marked his ninth consecutive 20-point game, the longest streak in the ACC this season and the most by a Deac since Skip Brown had a 10-game streak in 1974-75.

In addition to the career high, Collins pulled down 10 rebounds for his 12th double-double and his fifth 20-point, 10-rebound conference game of the season. Bryant Crawford was one point shy of a matching a career high with 25 points, his 18th consecutive double figure game. The last time two Demon Deacons recorded 25 points apiece was on Jan. 3, 2010 when Ish Smith totaled 28 and Al-Farouq Aminu finished with 26 against Xavier.

At Duke, Wake is in search of its seventh ACC win of the season, a mark it hasn’t reached since going 9-7 in the league in 2009-10. A victory would give the Deacs three ACC road wins for the first time since 2008-09. A win would also secure the program’s first winning regular season since 2013-14.

The Deacs have had one of the most efficient offenses in the nation this year. Wake is in the top 10 in KenPom offensive efficiency for the first time since leading the nation in 2004-05. Wake Forest enters the game ranked 10th nationally in offensive efficiency (2nd in the ACC, behind North Carolina).

Why Bet On Duke?

Duke remains one of the more intriguing teams for the NCAA Tournament committee to evaluate. The Blue Devils have played 26 games and yet between injuries, the Grayson Allen suspension and Coach K’s absence following back surgery, they have been whole for just six of them. Actually, the number is three if you account for sophomore forward Chase Jeter, who had a procedure to alleviate a herniated disc in his back but hasn’t played the last eight games, though he is technically available to play. On the other hand, Duke’s win over North Carolina has many believing that the Blue Devils are ready to resume their preseason perch as the consensus No. 1 team.

Duke has utilized nine different starting lineups this season. No starting lineup combination has played more than six games together. Led by Luke Kennard (20.0), Duke is one of three major-conference teams with three players averaging at 15.0+ points (also Arizona State and UCLA).

Duke leads the ACC with an average of 9.0 three-pointers per game in league play. Duke is shooting .435 from deep during its five-game winning streak, making 10.8 per game. On average, Duke outscores opponents by 9.9 points from three-point territory and 5.0 points from the free throw line.

Kennard ranks third in the ACC with an average of 34.8 minutes per game. Despite the workload, he ranks third in the ACC in scoring and second with a .527 field goal percentage. Duke is 11-1 (.917) this season and 36-3 (.923) in his career when Amile Jefferson has a team-high in rebounds.

The Blue Devils won at Wake 85-83 on Jan. 28. Kennard hit a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left and Duke rallied for the win. Kennard finished with 34 points — one shy of his career high. Duke trailed for more than 30 minutes and falling behind by 10 with less than 4 minutes to play. Bryant Crawford scored a career-high 26 points, Collins added 20 and Keyshawn Woods finished with 15 for Wake Forest.