College Basketball - All the Big Boys in Action

The new No.1 team in the nation, the college basketball betting ticket Wednesday night.

The Blue Devils moved to the top of the rankings after a 5-0 start to conference play. Overall Duke has won 10 straight including totally dominating college basketball odds in the win and during their 10-game streak they put together a 5-4-1 ATS mark. Against the Terrapins, Gerald Henderson led the Blue Devils with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Jon Scheyer chipped in with 12 points. On defense the Blue Devils completely shut down Maryland, holding them to 28 percent shooting and outrebounding them 52-29.

The Demon Deacons saw their stock fall last week, as they tumbled from No. 1 to No. 6 in the rankings after suffering their first loss of the season. Wake Forest was upset by perennial giant killers Virginia Tech 78-71 as a 12.5-point favorite on the college basketball odds. That was the Hokies’ second upset win over a No. 1 in the last three seasons. Wake Forest trailed for almost the entire game in the surprising loss, as Jeff Teague netted a team-high 23 points and James Johnson added 18 points. Virginia Tech broke down Wake Forest’s defense and hit 50 percent of their shots, a season high for a Demon Deacons opponent.

When Duke and Wake Forest collided last season the Demon Deacons shocked the Blue Devils 86-73 as an 8.5-point home underdog. Teague unloaded 26 points on the Blue Devils, while Johnson had one of his best games of the season with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Duke was led by Nolan Smith with 21 points, while Henderson was limited to only six points in the loss.

In Big East play on Wednesday night the No. 3 West Virginia 79-67 as a 1.5-point road favorite. Sam Young led the Panthers with 22 points and DeJuan Blair put up another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Wildcats rebounded from a loss to South Florida 70-61 as a 6-point favorite over the weekend. Dante Cunningham led Villanova with 14 points and eight rebounds, as they outrebounded the Bulls 41-26.

In two meetings last season the Panthers and Wildcats split the series with each winning on their home court. Pittsburgh won 69-57 as a 7-point home favorite, while Villanova squeezed out a 64-63 win as a 2.5-point home favorite.

Two other Top 5 teams are also in action Wednesday night, as No. 5 Florida State and No. 2 Connecticut takes on Big East punching bag DePaul.

The Tar Heels beat Clemson in North Carolina once again last Wednesday and now sit at 54-0 at home versus the Tigers. North Carolina won 94-70 as a 13-point favorite behind 25 points, six rebounds, and seven assists from Wayne Ellington.

UNC has won their last nine games against the Seminoles with their last loss against them coming back in 2004. The Seminoles are 1-2 against ranked teams this season and are coming off a 73-62 win over Virginia as a 1-point underdog.

Connecticut continues to climb the ladder in the Big East after defeating Notre Dame 69-61 as a 2-point favorite last week. Jerome Dyson led the Huskies with 15 points, but it was Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet’s performance that drew raves. Adrien netted 12 points to go along with 19 rebounds, while the 7-3 Thabeet had nine points and 11 boards.

The Blue Demons aren’t scaring anyone right now. DePaul has lost their last seven games, all versus Big East opponents. DePaul did beat the Huskies the last time they came to town in 2007, but they may need a miracle to do it again on Wednesday.