Georgia Tech’s 3-Point Parade Should Sink Duke

It turns out that falling out of the Top 25 rankings for the first time in nearly five years isn’t the low point for the Duke Blue Devils, who are in danger of dropping below .500 for the season as they host Georgia Tech on Tuesday. Duke (5-5 SU, 1-9 ATS) has dropped three straight but is still comfortably favored against the Yellow Jackets (7-4 SU, 6-5 ATS), who have won seven of nine.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Duke’s slow start hasn’t deterred the books from moving their Tuesday odds from -4.5 to -6, while the total has shifted from 142.5 to 141.5 in most spots.

Georgia Tech News & Notes

The Yellow Jackets are playing impressive basketball since Sportsbook the season with back-to-back losses. They’re 5-1 SU in their past six games and have covered in four straight while nearly pulling off the upset last time out in a 64-62 loss to Virginia at +8.5. Hot three-point shooting has been the key, with Georgia Tech ranked 31st in the nation in long-range efficiency (38.1 percent).

With Duke ranked 308th in the nation (!) in opponent three-point percentage (37.4), two Georgia Tech players will be of particular interest to daily fantasy players and bettors. Jose Alvarado (17.4 ppg) leads the team in scoring and is shooting 42.6 percent from deep, while Michael Devoe (13.9 ppg) ranks second on the team with a 42.2 percent three-point success rate.

Duke News & Notes

You know things are getting bad in Durham when coach Mike Krzyzewski is apologizing to student reporters for snarky responses to post-game Zoom questions. The Blue Devils are in shambles following a 70-65 loss to Louisville on Saturday, and are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1994-95 season, when they went just 13-18.

Defending the three-point line has to be a priority Tuesday – the Blue Devils have been torched at greater than a 40 percent clip in their six conference games – but it wouldn’t hurt to be better from beyond the arc themselves. Team scoring leader Matthew Hurt (19.2 ppg, 47.3% from deep) is the only Blue Devil with more than 20 attempts and a success rate higher than 32 percent.

Betting Pick: Georgia Tech +6 (-110)

Can bettors really put their faith in the Blue Devils at this point? Georgia Tech is one of the best teams in the country from long range, which happens to be the biggest weakness in the Duke defense. Look for the visitors to cover.