NC State has seen the total go UNDER in nine straight home games, but whenever Duke comes to town it’s a high-scoring game. Considering the Blue Devils have also seen the total go OVER in eight of their last 10 games, expect another high-scoring game on Wednesday.
- Date/Time: February 19, 9 p.m. ET
- Arena: PNC Arena
- TV Coverage: ESPN
- Sportsbook Odds: Duke -7.5 | O/U 150.5
- Duke vs NC State Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Blue Devils haven’t been overly convincing in a lot of their wins this season, but they have won seven straight, are 7-1 on the road and have won 14 of their last 19 against NC State, so they opened as 7.5-point road favorites. The total opened at 150.5 points, which represents a compromise between Duke’s tendency for high-scoring games lately and NC State seeing a lot of low totals over its last 10 contests – but these two schools have combined to score 162.3 points per game over their last 10 meetings.
Duke News & Notes
After eking out an overtime win against North Carolina, then battling to defeat eighth-ranked Florida State, the Blue Devils finally had a chance to relax during a game again on Saturday as they demolished Notre Dame 94-60.
It was the seventh straight win for Duke, but the Blue Devils haven’t exactly been dominant lately, covering the spread just three times over their last nine games.
What Duke has continued to do is score points, as the total has gone OVER in eight of its last 10 games. The team is led by Vernon Carey Jr. and his 17.6 points per game, but he really turns up his play on the road, where he’s averaging 20.8 points per contest.
While the Blue Devils may be facing a North Carolina State team that isn’t exactly stout defensively, Duke will need to play a strong game on the road in order to break a five-game ATS losing streak against the Wolfpack.
NC State News & Notes
North Carolina State is 16-9 on the season, sitting fifth in the ACC, but everything about this team screams middle of the pack. The Wolfpack sit outside the top 100 nationally in scoring and aren’t within the top 170 programs in defense, rebounding or assists. They’ve also lost four of their last six games, including defeats to Boston College, Georgia Tech and UNC — all sub-.500 teams.
While Duke has been all about high-scoring games, the Wolfpack have been the total opposite: they have seen the total go UNDER in nine of their last 11 games and in nine straight home games. That trend will be tested Wednesday, however, as the Blue Devils tend to control the tempo in their matchups, resulting in the total going OVER in six straight meetings.
NC State hasn’t had much luck defeating Duke recently, losing seven of their last 10 meetings and 14 of the last 19, but the Wolfpack do play the Blue Devils tough, going 7-3 ATS in their past 10 matchups.
Betting Pick: OVER 150.5
The total goes OVER a lot when Duke plays, including 10 straight games at NC State. I think they make it 11 straight on Wednesday.
- NC State is 10-5 ATS in its last 15 February games.
- Duke is 7-1 SU on the road this season.
- The OVER is 10-0 in Duke’s last 10 at NC State.
