Blue Devils Face First True Road Test At Ohio State

The top-ranked Duke Blue Devils (7-0 SU, 3-1-3 ATS) will put their undefeated record on the line Tuesday when they visit the Ohio State Buckeyes (4-2, 2-4) as small road favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. The Blue Devils moved into the No. 1 spot in the Top 25 rankings following an 84-81 upset of the Gonzaga Bulldogs as 8.5-point underdogs last Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Naturally, Duke got some early support at Ohio State, moving up to -3.5 from -3 before dropping back to -3. The Blue Devils are a very public team, so it would not be surprising to see this line rise again, even up closer to -4 or higher before the tip. Meanwhile, the total has steadily fallen down to 147.5.

The Buckeyes will be playing their fourth true home game of the young season, and they have gone 3-0 SU in their first three but just 1-2 ATS. They did get a warm-up in terms of competition at the Fort Myers Tip-Off last week, falling in the championship game 71-68 on a three-pointer at the buzzer last Wednesday after leading 30-26 at halftime.

In fact, their last two games were both decided by exactly three points, and their only other loss was a six-point road defeat to the Xavier Musketeers. Ohio State opened the season ranked No. 17 before slowly slipping out of the Top 25.

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Duke News & Notes

Duke turned in a true team win against Gonzaga, as star freshman Paolo Banchero shouldered the load in the first half before his teammates carried him in the second. Banchero scored 20 of his game-high 21 points in the first 20 minutes before being bothered by cramps that limited him the rest of the way.

Junior forward Wendell Moore Jr. stepped up with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes, and sophomore center Mark Williams added 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, a team-high nine rebounds and five blocked shots in 28 minutes.

That balanced scoring and ability for the Blue Devils to adjust with their top player ailing could help them even more down the road.

Ohio State News & Notes

There is no shame in losing a close tournament title game on a buzzer-beater, as the Buckeyes had found a way to edge the 25th-ranked Seton Hall Pirates on a similar three-point shot for a 79-76 victory with 2.3 seconds remaining in the semifinals two days earlier.

On a positive note, they have still lost just two games by a combined nine points and can improve by finding some more help for leading scorer E.J. Liddell (22.5 points per game). No other Ohio State player is averaging double figures in points right now while the six-foot-seven Liddell also leads the team in blocks (3.8 per game) and ranks second in rebounds (6.2).

Freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. hit the game-Sportsbook vs Seton Hall but scored just 10 points total in Fort Myers after averaging 13.5 in his previous two games.

How Duke Will Cover