Duke vs North Carolina Game Analysis and Pick

It’s one of the best rivalries in all of sports, Duke and North Carolina play out another chapter this Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 9pm EST. Duke is near the top of the NCAA basketball rankings and North Carolina is languishing near the bottom of the ACC but when the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels play, it’s always a battle and the rivalry never gets old.

This year Duke is the superior team, ranking 4 th in the nation and owning a 25-5 record. In their first meeting, the Blue Devils went to Chapel Hill and handed the Tar Heels a double-digit loss, holding North Carolina to just 54 points in the game. With a win this Saturday, Duke will lock up the top seed in the ACC tournament.

North Carolina had hoped to salvage their season by winning two straight, including a big win over Wake Forrest but a 16-14 record and a 5-10 in conference record isn’t going to get the attention of the NCAAA selection committee. They have been horrible to their fans and horrible to college basketball betting fans who support them, the Tar Heels are only 10-18 against the spread and it doesn’t look good against Duke, as they are 3-6 on the road. They have covered their past four games in Durham but this year’s Tar Heel team is not as strong as past Tar Heel teams.

Duke is coming off a road loss to co-ACC leader Maryland it will be interesting to see how far Duke has dropped when the College Basketball rankings come out this Monday. However, Duke is on fire at home, they haven’t lost on their home court this year and against the spread, they are 12-3-1 in their past 16 games at home.

The loss to Maryland affected more than just the ACC standings, Jon Scheyer had been in a back and forth race with Greivis Vasquez for the ACC Player of the Year award but with the Terps win over Duke and Vasquez narrowly outplaying Scheyer it may be enough to swing the votes.

The Duke and North Carolina rivalry is unlike anything else in sports, the schools are separate by eight miles, and the history between the two goes back 40 years. The two teams have been in some classic battles and fantastic ball games but unfortunately, for college basketball fans, Saturday won’t be one of those games. Roy William’s Tar Heels have fallen too far for them to challenge Duke, maybe with a good recruiting class the rivalry will reignite next season.

College Basketball Betting Pick: Duke Blue Devils laying the points.