ACC Tournament Predictions – Virginia vs. #4 Duke
by Tim Furious
It’s been four years coming, but Duke is finally back on top of the ACC. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t exactly intend to arrive there in this fashion. After being upset by a miracle shot against the Maryland Terrapins, Duke split the regular-season title with them. Duke can easily continue to their winning ways while playing the Cavaliers who will be without their star player.
Virginia isn’t exactly known for its basketball in the first place and the proud program of Duke has 13-1 SU in the head-to-head series. Lately, they’ve been having no problem covering huge spreads and a 4-1-1 ATS record in their last 6 games against Virginia should give you some confidence.
Overall Duke hasn’t exactly been a reliable bet. A 2-3-1 ATS record in their last 6 games overall has been cause to play Duke cautiously in college basketball betting. But tournament style play has always benefited the seasoned Blue Devils, and boasting the tournament’s player of the year last year is going to help. Jon Scheyer is averaging 18.9 points, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals and is backed by Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith.
Friday, March 12th --- Greensboro Coliseum --- 12:00pm EST
: Duke -17 (127)
While Duke continues to roll with their star trio, Virginia will have to enter the tournament without their central player. Sylven Landesberg, who averaged 17.3 points per game, was too stupid to be eligible. After failing in class and being suspended for his academic shortcomings, Landesberg has also failed the Cavaliers’ betting faithful.
In their past 10 games, Virginia has gone 1-8-1 ATS and are 1-9 SU in that stretch. They have never played Duke very well, and considering that the Blue Devils will be on a revenge tour to get another crack at Maryland, Virginia will be the team going down in flames.
The TOTAL may seem low, but this is a matchup that has it the UNDER in five consecutive games. You know what you should be doing.
