North Carolina vs Duke Prediction, Preview, Stream, Odds, and Picks
Will the Tar Heels Win at Cameron Indoor Stadium Again?
New Era in the North Carolina-Duke Rivalry
A Hubert Davis-Jon Scheyer coaching matchup in perhaps the best rivalry in all of college basketball doesn’t have quite the drawing power of a game when Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski were trying to get the upper hand.
This is the third time since the start of the 1961-62 that neither Duke nor North Carolina is ranked in the Top 25 in the national polls.
Duke is one of three ACC teams still undefeated at home, while North Carolina is 2-4 on the road.
North Carolina guard Puff Johnson, who is averaging 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game, hasn’t played since a Jan. 17 win over Boston College. He is expected to play.
Freshman Dariq Whitehead is questionable for Duke. He is averaging 8.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game and has missed the last two games due to a leg injury.
Neither Duke nor North Carolina are in the Top 25 in either national poll. However, the Blue Devils are third and Tar Heels eighth among other teams receiving votes in the coaches’ poll. North Carolina is ahead of Duke when it comes to the others receiving votes in The Associated Press rankings..
According to the college basketball odds, North Carolina (+3300) is 15th in the odds to win the national title with Duke (+5000) checking in at No. 22. North Carolina (+2000) is fourth and Duke (+3300) sixth in the odds to win the ACC title.
Let’s check the latest college basketball news, stats, injury reports, and college basketball lines for North Carolina vs Duke. We’ve got plenty of NCAA basketball picks for you to consider.
Trying to Find the Range
Just when the Tar Heels seemed to be headed in the right direction with seven wins in a stretch of eight games, they stumbled at home against Pittsburgh.
The Tar Heels led by six points in the second half but North Carolina‘s shooting woes proved costly.
North Carolina was just 5 of 27 from 3-point range (1 of 16 for players other than Caleb Love). A late turnover and two Pittsburgh foul shots allowed the Panthers to sweep the season series.
The struggles shooting from distance are nothing new as the Tar Heels are connecting on 25.5% of their 3-pointers in the seven losses compared to 33.3% in the 15 victories.
North Carolina has covered against the college basketball betting lines in just three of its last 10 games.
Freshmen Aren’t Having all the Fun
While freshmen Kyle Filipowski, Dereck Lively, Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor have combined to start in 77 of the 86 games they have played in and classmate Dariq Whitehead has started six times, there is still room for veteran players to shine.
Junior guard Jeremy Roach is coming off a 21-point effort, one shy of his season-high in a two-point win over Wake Forest. Roach is averaging 13.3 points in the four games since he returned to the lineup. He didn’t do much from the perimeter in his first two games back, but he is 6 of 10 from 3-point range over the last two contests.
Roach had back-to-back baskets in the second half to stretch the Duke lead to 13 points before Wake Forest made things interesting down the stretch.
This steal went crazy @Jeremyroach10!! ♻️👀 pic.twitter.com/MJXRDjUhQE
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 1, 2023
Roach didnt do much against Duke last season with 31 points in the three matchups.
Senior Ryan Young has 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting in the wins over Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Senior Jacob Grandison has 14 assists and only four turnovers over the last eight games.
Duke has covered against the Las Vegas odds in just one of its last eight games.
North Carolina vs Duke Injuries
North Carolina vs Duke Head-to-Head
North Carolina has won four of the last five meetings with Duke. The last time the teams met came in the 2022 national semifinals when Caleb Love had 28 points and Armando Bacot 11 points and 21 rebounds as the Tar Heels advanced to the national title game with their 81-77 win in the final game of Krzyzewski’s record-breaking coaching career. That ended a run of three straight games decided by double digits.
North Carolina has won the last two meetings at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Each of the last seven games in the series went over the total.
North Carolina vs Duke Game Information
- Game: North Carolina (15-7, 7-4 ACC) vs Duke (16-6, 7-4)
- Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC
- Day/Time: Saturday, Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m. ET
- North Carolina vs Duke Live Stream: TBS
North Carolina vs Duke Betting Lines
North Carolina vs Duke Prediction
North Carolina is second in the ACC in scoring offense. Duke ranks second in scoring defense. The Blue Devils lead the conference when it comes to defending the 3-point shot.
Things could get physical inside considering that the Blue Devils and Tar Heels are first and second in rebounds per game and rebounding margin.
Duke has covered in 5 of its 11 home games.
Duke is 16-4 when listed by the sportsbook as the favorite. North Carolina has dropped all three of its games as the underdog.
So far this season, 25 of the 34 games played by the teams landed under the total. The total is set at 145 for this meeting.
North Carolina is listed at +130 in our Las Vegas college basketball lines. This means that if you wager $100 on the Tar Heels, you have a chance to win $130. Duke is -150, offering a chance to win $67 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives North Carolina a 43.48% chance to win, with Duke at 60%.
The odds in this chart are based on the time of publication. They are subject to change.
