Duke vs Oral Roberts Prediction, Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds and Picks
Abmas Looks for More March Madness
Duke Freshmen Get Introduction to March Madness
The Duke Blue Devils are getting hot at the perfect time, with nine straight wins and taking down ACC regular-season co-champions Miami and Virginia in the final two games of the ACC tournament. Before the late surge, Duke was not getting much love when it came to March Madness predictions.
Oral Roberts takes a 17-game winning streak into the game after dominating the Summit League. Eleven of those games were decided by double figures.
Oral Roberts is making back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years, while Duke will be playing in the tournament with somebody not named Mike Krzyzewski as the coach for the first time since 1980.
According to college basketball news, Oral Roberts will be without forward Sir Isaac Herron, who has played in just one game this season due to a hand injury.
Only four players have appeared in all 34 games for Duke this season. However, the Blue Devils are getting healthy at the perfect time.
Duke moved up nine spots to No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and went from 21st to 16th in the coaches poll.
According to the college basketball odds, Duke (+2500) is 11th in the odds to win the national championship, while Oral Roberts comes in at +50000.
More March Madness Magic for Mad Max
Two years ago, Oral Roberts busted plenty of March Madness brackets by taking down No. 2 seed Ohio State and No. 7 seed Florida and advancing to the Sweet 16. Those were the first wins for Oral Roberts in the NCAA tournament since 1954. Leading the way for the surprising Golden Eagles was dynamic guard Max Abmas. He is back, making some March Madness experts picks call for an upset.
Abmas had seven points during an 18-5 run that pretty much ended the upset bid for St. Thomas in the Summit League semifinals.
Abmas followed up his 23-point effort in the semifinals by finishing with 26 points and 11 assists in a championship game win over North Dakota State. The Golden Eagles never trailed in the game to punch their ticket back to the NCAA tournament.
Oral Roberts hasn’t lost since falling to North Dakota in early January. The Golden Eagles topped North Dakota twice since then.
Basketball fans likely remember Abmas’ name as he had 29 points against Ohio State and 26 more against Florida in the 2021 NCAA tournament. In 13 career postseason games, he has scored at least 20 points nine times and has a 21.4 average in conference and NCAA tournament play.
Connor Vanover, a 7-foot-5 Arkansas transfer, averaged 15.3 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots during the conference tournament, while Carlos Jurgens played a key role in the 2021 March Madness run.
Oral Roberts has covered against the college basketball lines in just one of its last nine games, while six went under the total.
Better Late Than Never
As if losing the winningest coach in men’s Division I history wasn’t enough to contend with, five Duke players were selected in the 2022 NBA Draft, led by No. 1 overall pick and NBA Rookie of the Year front-runner Paolo Banchero.
Duke did bring in the top recruiting class in the nation, with Jeremy Roach leading the list of returning players.
Kyle Filipowski has been one of the country’s top freshmen and some of his classmates are starting to figure things out.
Duke began 2023 by losing to North Carolina State by 24 points, barely beating Boston College, and falling to Clemson during a four-game stretch with March Madness expectations starting to fade.
Something clicked after dropping back-to-back games to Miami and Virginia in early February. Duke hasn’t lost since.
In the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils never trailed against Pittsburgh and closed out Miami and Virginia down the stretch to win the ACC tournament.
Last year, it was first-year head coach Hubert Davis that led rival North Carolina to the national title game. Now it is Jon Scheyer looking to take the Blue Devils on a similar journey.
Filipowski averaged 19.7 points, Roach contributed 15 points per game and freshman Tyrese Proctor (10.3 points) was another key performer in the ACC tournament.
Tough triple. Elite dime.
💪 @kylefilipowski 🤝 @TyreseProctor pic.twitter.com/TcWN6n6EcH
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 13, 2023
Duke has covered against the NCAA basketball odds in its last four games.
Duke vs Oral Roberts Game Injuries
Duke vs Oral Roberts Head-to-Head
There aren’t matchups between the teams to help those who bet online. However, it should be noted that Duke has won against No. 12 seeds in 2016 and 1999.
Duke vs Oral Roberts Game Information
- Game: Oral Roberts (30-4, 18-0 Summit League) vs Duke (26-8, 14-6 ACC)
- Location: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
- Day/Time: Thursday, March 16, 7:00 p.m. ET
- Oral Roberts vs Duke Live stream: TBS.com
Oral Roberts vs Duke Betting Lines
Duke vs Oral Roberts Picks and Prediction
For those making March Madness Picks, keep in mind that Oral Roberts is 19 spots ahead of Duke in the KenPom offensive rating database. It will be worth watching to see how successful the Golden Eagles are on offense against the ACC champions.
Based on what happened last season and the history of 12 seeds taking down No. 5 seeds, Oral Roberts will get some support as Duke will be on upset watch, especially with four of Duke’s top five scorers being freshmen.
Duke is 25-4 when listed by the Las Vegas NCAA odds as the favorite. Oral Roberts is 0-4 as an underdog.
Duke is 6-2 this season in games played at neutral sites and has covered against the spread in five of those matchups.
Duke is listed at -290 in our Las Vegas college basketball lines. This means that if you wager $100 on the Blue Devils, you have a chance to win $34. Oral Roberts is +240, offering a chance to win $240 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Duke a 74.36% chance to win, with Oral Roberts at 29.41%.
The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.
