On Saturday night, the Duke Blue Devils take on the NC State Wolfpack for an ACC semifinal game in North Carolina. Duke survived a major scare from Clemson on Friday night by recording a 63-62 win in the final seconds of the game on two free throws from Rodney Hood. Duke blew a second-half lead of 13 points before securing the win. Now, NC State will look to take down Duke for a shot in the title game. We like Duke though in this contest.
Duke has not played in the ACC title game since 2011, when they last won the conference tournament, so tonight is a major game for the Blue Devils. Many on the team believe that a month or so ago they would have lost that game Friday night to Clemson. Now, Duke seems to have solidified things on the court as they prepare for a deep run in the national tourney following this ACC tournament. Duke has taken 12 of the last 15 games against NC State.
NC State has enjoyed its run in the ACC tournament so far this year. Now, they look to get past a team they have struggled against recently. NC State’s most recent loss to Duke came by 35 points back in January. NC State is on a four-game winning streak after knocking off the two-seed in the tourney, Syracuse. This is the third straight year the Wolfpack has reached the semifinals. They have not been to the title game since a loss to North Carolina in 2007. That year they upset Duke in the first round.
Even though NC State has upset a couple of teams in this tournament, Duke is the favorite to take home the semifinal win tonight at Sportsbook.ag by 9.5 points. We find it incredibly easy to lay the line in favor of Duke tonight with 20 percent of our bankroll against NC State.
