Duke vs North Carolina 3/5/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
North Carolina Tar Heels (22-8) vs. Duke Blue Devils (26-4)
March 5, 2022 6:00 pm EDT
The Line: Duke Blue Devils -11.5 / North Carolina Tar Heels +11.5; Over/Under: +153.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils meet in college basketball action from Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night.
The North Carolina Tar Heels will look to build on a four-game win streak after an 88-79 win over Syracuse last time out. Armando Bacot leads UNC in scoring and rebounding with 16.4 PPG and 12.7 RPG, averaging a double-double per game while Caleb Love has 15.5 PPG with 3.3 RPG and a team-high 3.7 APG. R.J. Davis has 13.3 PPG with 3.6 RPG and 3.4 APG while Brady Manek has 14.2 PPG with 5.6 RPG to round out the scoring in double figures for the Tar Heels so far this season. As a team, North Carolina is averaging 78.1 PPG on 45.7% shooting from the field, 37.4% from behind the arc and 76.6% from the foul line while allowing 72.4 PPG on 43.4% shooting from the field and 34.7% from three this season.
The Duke Blue Devils will try to finish strong, entering on a seven-game win streak after an 86-56 win over Pitt last time out. Paolo Banchero leads Duke in scoring and rebounding with 16.9 PPG and 7.8 RPG while Wendell Moore Jr. has 13.2 PPG with 5.5 RPG and 4.6 APG to lead the Blue Devils in assists. Trevor Keels has 12.3 PPG with 3.1 APG and Mark Williams has 10.8 PPG and 7 RPG this season. AJ Griffin also has 10.4 PPG and 3.7 RPG as well to make up the group of double-digit scorers for Duke so far this season. As a team, Duke is averaging 80.3 PPG on 48.9% shooting from the field, 37.7% from three and 73% from the foul line while allowing 65.1 PPG on 41% shooting from the field and 29.9% from three this season.
North Carolina is 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games against a team with a winning record and 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 road games while the over is 5-0 in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record. Duke is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Saturday games and 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 games after a win by 20 or more points while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games overall.
I get the case to be made for both sides here, but I’m looking at the over in this one. I think all of the focus is on Coach K’s last regular season game at Cameron Indoor, but we forget with that being the narrative, how good this Duke offense is and how bad the UNC offense has been at times. I think the Tar Heels need to go shot for shot to keep up with Duke here, so I’m looking at the over in this one.
