North Carolina vs Duke Picks: Take Over 148.5 For Rivalry Game February 01

Yes, we know that the North Carolina Tar Heels have already lost to five unranked teams and are sitting at No. 41 in the NCAA NET rankings while the Duke Blue Devils are sitting atop the ACC with a 10-0 record heading into their Saturday night matchup. We also know that you can pull out every cliche in the book when Duke and North Carolina get together.

The college basketball lines list Duke as a 14-point favorite against visiting North Carolina. The Blue Devils are a double-digit favorite against the Tar Heels for just the fourth time in the last 10 years.

North Carolina has won three of its last four road games against the Blue Devils. However, the Tar Heels were listed as an underdog by five points or less in three of those matchups. Eight of the last 10 times these bitter rivals have met during the regular season, the game went over the total.

Duke (+600) trails only Auburn in the odds of winning March Madness. The championship odds for North Carolina have moved from +2000 to +6000 since the start of the season.

Check out our best North Carolina vs Duke expert picks ahead.

North Carolina vs Duke How To Watch

• Game: North Carolina (13-9, 6-4 ACC) vs Duke (18-2, 10-0)
• Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 1, 6:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC
• North Carolina vs Duke Live Stream: Fubo.Tv

Find North Carolina vs Duke betting trends here.

3 North Carolina vs Duke Bets You Should Make

1. North Carolina vs Duke Over 148.5 (-110)

Each of the meetings between Duke and North Carolina last season had more than 150 points scored. When looking at college basketball trends, it should be noted that Duke’s top four scorers and three of North Carolina’s top four scorers from those matchups won’t be stepping onto the Cameron Indoor Stadium court on Saturday.

North Carolina’s issues this season aren’t on the offensive end of the court. The Tar Heels are ranked fifth in offensive rating by the Pomeroy basketball database

IT’S GAMEDAY.

🆚 Duke
🕡 6:30 PM ET
📍 Durham, NC
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/grebr6tbEQ

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) February 1, 2025

North Carolina and Duke rank second and third, respectively, in the ACC in scoring offense. A more telling stat could be that UNC is 16th in scoring defense.

Leading the way in the North Carolina vs Duke best bets is for Saturday’s showdown to land over 148.5 points.

Bet On North Carolina vs Duke Over 148.5

2. North Carolina (+14)

The fact that North Carolina is coming off a loss to Pittsburgh might scare off some who bet online. However, the Tar Heels have lost four of their last six games to the Panthers and that doesn’t always mean that UNC can’t match up with Duke.

Duke has won its last 15 games when listed as the favorite at BetUS sportsbook. However, the Blue Devils have failed to cover in each of the last two games.

Veteran guard RJ Davis knows what it takes to beat Duke, and he is averaging 19.5 points over his last four games. Freshman Ian Jackson has been held under 10 points in three of his last four outings, and that is a concern when going up against a Duke team led by freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel.

Maybe we are getting caught up in North Carolina’s place as a Blue Blood in college basketball history or that each of the last four meetings between North Carolina and Duke have been decided by nine points or less, but when making our college basketball picks, we’re going with the Tar Heels to cover.

Bet On North Carolina (+14)

3. Duke F Cooper Flagg 22+ Points

Is there really anywhere else to start in the North Carolina vs Duke player props than with Duke’s freshman phenom Cooper Flagg?

In his last three games, Flagg is averaging 26.7 points while shooting 53% from the field. It hasn’t hurt that Flagg has gone to the foul line 33 times in those three games.

Cooper Flagg is special 🔥

@DukeMBB | @RealJayWilliams pic.twitter.com/6sEueVRogA

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) January 31, 2025

For those who don’t love the odds on his scoring props, he is averaging 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the games against Boston College, Wake Forest and NC State.

Speaking of freshmen, UNC’s Ian Jackson has 58 points in his last three games against ranked teams.

Bet On Cooper Flagg 22+ Points (-189)

Duke vs North Carolina Prediction

Duke 81, North Carolina 70

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets.

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