The Duke Blue Devils (5-3 SU, 1-7 ATS) hit the road Tuesday night to play the Pittsburgh Panthers (7-2 SU, 6-3 ATS), who have won two straight as an underdog to continue their impressive start. For the first time in their last eight head-to-head matchups, Duke enters this game as just a single-digit favorite over Pitt.
- Date/Time: January 19, 9 p.m. ET
- Arena: Petersen Events Center
- TV Coverage: ESPN
- Sportsbook Odds: Duke -2.5 | O/U 141 (Line History)
- Duke vs Pittsburgh Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Blue Devils, off to a slow start by their standards despite a relatively easy strength of schedule, opened and have held as a small 2.5-point favorite. Duke was a 16.5-point favorite over Pittsburgh in their most recent matchup last season. The total has held steady at 141; the two teams have combined to average 141.34 points in the last three meetings.
Duke News & Notes
Duke enters this contest with what would be its lowest win percentage in over 20 years at .625 and has covered the spread only once in eight games.
Sure, the season is still young, but should Blue Devils fans be worried? Not yet. Coach Mike Krzyzewski has an unbelievable amount of talent on this roster, leading the ACC with nine top-50 ranked high school prospects.
Sophomore Matthew Hurt has really stepped up of late and leads the team in points per game (19.6) and minutes per game (33.3). Guard Jordan Goldwire (7.5 ppg) is second on the team in minutes and is the only senior who plays valuable minutes.
Pittsburgh News & Notes
Former Duke assistant Jeff Capel III has done a very nice job this season and the Panthers have really seemed to have found their groove of late. They have looked very sharp this month, beating Syracuse twice as an underdog, most recently winning by 20 points.
The Panthers are led by Mr. Intensity, Justin Champagnie, who is averaging 18.7 points per game. The sophomore forward also tops the ACC in rebounding by a considerable margin, hauling down 12.9 boards per game.
Pittsburgh has covered the spread in six of its last seven games.
Betting Pick: Duke -2.5
Pitt is in a typical letdown spot here after two straight wins as an underdog. Look for Duke to wake up and control this game from start to finish. The road favorite is the play.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Duke is 1-7 ATS on the season.
- Pitt is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games.
- Duke is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games vs Pitt.
