Blue Devils bedevil bettors
?I?m only little but I already hate Duke?
?Friends don?t let friends root for Duke?
?Duck Fuke?
These are the types of slogans you can find on shirts being sold by one of the many online merchants looking to cash-in on disdain for the Duke Blue Devils.
While arguably the most beloved team in college basketball, Duke is at the same time the most loathed.
Why? Because Duke has this maddening habit of winning, a lot. And because they win, they get tons of media attention. And because they get attention, they tend to attract America?s best young ball players.
And those players, in turn, perpetuate the cycle.
In case you?re just emerging from your Super Bowl hangover, Duke is stacked with stars and is enjoying yet another stellar season. Through 23 games, the No. 2 Blue Devils have lost only once, that being to Georgetown last month. They are 10-0 SU in conference play.
But Duke?s popularity and propensity for winning has not necessarily been a good thing for Blue Devil bettors. Because of their popularity, the Devils tend to attract more betting action. As a result, bookmakers make the Blue Devils bigger favorites in an attempt to balance their action by enticing bettors to take the points.
And with a larger spread, the Devils are obviously less likely to cover. Duke was favored in every one of its first 23 games. However, its record against the spread is below average at 9-11.
As the betting public?s attention shifts from football to basketball, Duke is becoming an even more popular pick. Thus, the spreads have remained high even though the Blue Devils have been facing stiffer competition in conference play.
Duke is just 2-5-1 ATS in its past eight ACC games, and has failed to cover in four straight. The Blue Devils? last three conference games have been particularly tight.
Last week against Boston College they were favored by five, but won by only two, 83-81. Last Saturday, they were favored by 15 to beat Florida St. but barely got by the Seminoles 97-96 in overtime. Then on Tuesday, they were favored by 5.5 at UNC, but only managed to scrape by 87-83.
On Saturday, the Blue Devils visit rival Maryland (1 p.m. ET, CBS). In their first meeting on Jan. 11, the Blue Devils beat the Terrapins 76-52 as 13-point favorites in front of the Crazies at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Terps have struggled on the road this season and are just 1-4 SU. At home, however, they have been dominant at 12-1 SU. One of those wins was a 73-71 victory over then-No. 6 BC. Overall, Maryland is 15-7 SU (7-8-1 ATS) and 5-4 in conference play.
Maryland is one of the few teams that have given the Blue Devils trouble over the past couple of years. Prior to their loss in January, the Terps had won three straight games versus the Blue Devils. They beat them twice last year: 75-66 at Duke as 12.5-point dogs, and 99-92 in overtime as 4-point home dogs. Two years ago, they knocked off the Blue Devils 95-87 in OT to win the conference title as 9-point dogs.
With the nation?s leading scorer J.J. Redick (28.4 ppg), the Blue Devils have the top scoring offense in the ACC (5th in the nation) averaging 83 ppg. Meanwhile, their scoring defense is allowing 66.7 ppg, sixth in the 12-team ACC.
With a high-scoring offense and an average defense, Duke has seen higher scoring games this season. Twenty-two Duke games have had posted totals and 13 (nearly 60 percent) have gone OVER.
Other notable Saturday games:
SEC: No. 11 Tennessee at Georgia (4 p.m. ET)
With new head coach Bruce Pearl, the Volunteers are likely the biggest surprise team in college basketball this year.
The Vols have an overall record of 17-3 SU and are 8-1 in conference play. They also have one of the best records against the spread in Division I at 13-4 ATS. The Bulldogs have also been an excellent pick at 13-6 ATS.
In their first meeting on Jan. 11, the Vols rolled the Bulldogs 89-76 as 8.5-point home favorites.
Big Ten: No. 18 Iowa at No. 24 Indiana (12 p.m. ET, ESPN)
With a record of 7-2 in conference play (as of Wednesday), the Hawkeyes are currently leading what is arguably the toughest conference in college basketball this year.
In their first meeting, the Hawkeyes beat the Hoosiers 73-60 as 3-point home favorites.
Pac-10: No. 13 UCLA at No. 21 Washington (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
UCLA leads the conference with an overall record of 19-4 SU (10-9 ATS) and 9-2 in conference play. The Huskies are 16-5 SU (7-12 ATS) and 5-5 versus Pac-10 foes.
In their first meeting on Jan. 14, the Bruins lost 69-65 to the Huskies as 1-point home dogs.
Perry---
BetWWTS.com
?I?m only little but I already hate Duke?
?Friends don?t let friends root for Duke?
?Duck Fuke?
These are the types of slogans you can find on shirts being sold by one of the many online merchants looking to cash-in on disdain for the Duke Blue Devils.
While arguably the most beloved team in college basketball, Duke is at the same time the most loathed.
Why? Because Duke has this maddening habit of winning, a lot. And because they win, they get tons of media attention. And because they get attention, they tend to attract America?s best young ball players.
And those players, in turn, perpetuate the cycle.
In case you?re just emerging from your Super Bowl hangover, Duke is stacked with stars and is enjoying yet another stellar season. Through 23 games, the No. 2 Blue Devils have lost only once, that being to Georgetown last month. They are 10-0 SU in conference play.
But Duke?s popularity and propensity for winning has not necessarily been a good thing for Blue Devil bettors. Because of their popularity, the Devils tend to attract more betting action. As a result, bookmakers make the Blue Devils bigger favorites in an attempt to balance their action by enticing bettors to take the points.
And with a larger spread, the Devils are obviously less likely to cover. Duke was favored in every one of its first 23 games. However, its record against the spread is below average at 9-11.
As the betting public?s attention shifts from football to basketball, Duke is becoming an even more popular pick. Thus, the spreads have remained high even though the Blue Devils have been facing stiffer competition in conference play.
Duke is just 2-5-1 ATS in its past eight ACC games, and has failed to cover in four straight. The Blue Devils? last three conference games have been particularly tight.
Last week against Boston College they were favored by five, but won by only two, 83-81. Last Saturday, they were favored by 15 to beat Florida St. but barely got by the Seminoles 97-96 in overtime. Then on Tuesday, they were favored by 5.5 at UNC, but only managed to scrape by 87-83.
On Saturday, the Blue Devils visit rival Maryland (1 p.m. ET, CBS). In their first meeting on Jan. 11, the Blue Devils beat the Terrapins 76-52 as 13-point favorites in front of the Crazies at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Terps have struggled on the road this season and are just 1-4 SU. At home, however, they have been dominant at 12-1 SU. One of those wins was a 73-71 victory over then-No. 6 BC. Overall, Maryland is 15-7 SU (7-8-1 ATS) and 5-4 in conference play.
Maryland is one of the few teams that have given the Blue Devils trouble over the past couple of years. Prior to their loss in January, the Terps had won three straight games versus the Blue Devils. They beat them twice last year: 75-66 at Duke as 12.5-point dogs, and 99-92 in overtime as 4-point home dogs. Two years ago, they knocked off the Blue Devils 95-87 in OT to win the conference title as 9-point dogs.
With the nation?s leading scorer J.J. Redick (28.4 ppg), the Blue Devils have the top scoring offense in the ACC (5th in the nation) averaging 83 ppg. Meanwhile, their scoring defense is allowing 66.7 ppg, sixth in the 12-team ACC.
With a high-scoring offense and an average defense, Duke has seen higher scoring games this season. Twenty-two Duke games have had posted totals and 13 (nearly 60 percent) have gone OVER.
Other notable Saturday games:
SEC: No. 11 Tennessee at Georgia (4 p.m. ET)
With new head coach Bruce Pearl, the Volunteers are likely the biggest surprise team in college basketball this year.
The Vols have an overall record of 17-3 SU and are 8-1 in conference play. They also have one of the best records against the spread in Division I at 13-4 ATS. The Bulldogs have also been an excellent pick at 13-6 ATS.
In their first meeting on Jan. 11, the Vols rolled the Bulldogs 89-76 as 8.5-point home favorites.
Big Ten: No. 18 Iowa at No. 24 Indiana (12 p.m. ET, ESPN)
With a record of 7-2 in conference play (as of Wednesday), the Hawkeyes are currently leading what is arguably the toughest conference in college basketball this year.
In their first meeting, the Hawkeyes beat the Hoosiers 73-60 as 3-point home favorites.
Pac-10: No. 13 UCLA at No. 21 Washington (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
UCLA leads the conference with an overall record of 19-4 SU (10-9 ATS) and 9-2 in conference play. The Huskies are 16-5 SU (7-12 ATS) and 5-5 versus Pac-10 foes.
In their first meeting on Jan. 14, the Bruins lost 69-65 to the Huskies as 1-point home dogs.
Perry---
BetWWTS.com
