North Carolina State vs Duke College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 2/13/21

The Duke Blue Devils and the NC State Wolfpack meet Saturday in college basketball action from PNC Arena. 

Duke enters this one at 7-8 so far. The Blue Devils have lost three straight, most recently against Notre Dame. As for NC State, they’re 8-8 this year. The Wolfpack are 1-3 in the last four and coming off a loss to Syracuse. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Duke hasn’t had an easy time of things this year. The Devils started out at 5-2, then lost three straight to Virginia Tech, Pitt and Louisville. After wins over Georgia Tech and Clemson, Duke fell in three more to Miami, North Carolina and Notre Dame. 

In the 93-89 loss to the Irish on Tuesday, Duke’s Wendell Moore put up 24 points with 10 rebounds and three assists to lead the team. Jeremy Roach added 16 points with two boards and two assists, and Matthew Hurt chipped in with 13 points and four boards. 

Over on the NC State side, they began at 6-1 before a string of losses to Clemson, Miami, Florida State and North Carolina. Since then the Wolfpack are 2-3 with wins over Wake Forest and Boston College alongside losses to Syracuse, Virginia and Syracuse again. 

In the 77-68 loss to Syracuse on Tuesday, NC State’s top scorer was Thomas Allen with 17 points, three rebounds and two assists. Derek Funderburk added 14 points with six rebounds, and Jericole Hellems had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. 

The Wolfpack are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 Saturday games and 1-3-1 ATS in their last five after an ATS loss. NC State is 2-6-2 ATS in their last 10 overall and the under is 7-3 in their last 10 Saturday games. 

Meanwhile, the Devils are 1-4 ATS in their last five Saturday games and 1-6 ATS in their last seven after an ATS loss. Duke is 1-4 ATS in their last five after a straight-up loss and the over is 10-3-1 in their last 14 Saturday games. 

PICK: I like Duke here. This one doesn’t feel like a normal Duke-NC State matchup, as both teams have been struggling mightily this season. The good news for Duke is that they’ve scored 75 or more points in each of their last five games. The bad news is that they’ve allowed 77 or more in each of their last three. This one will probably be a high-scoring game, but I like Duke to hang in there and power out a cover. Should be a competitive matchup at least.