FrontPagBets takes a look at Duke from a Final Four betting perspective.
By Mike Sullivan For FrontPageBets Duke is 32-6, winners of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship, runner-up in the conference tournament and a No. 2 seed out of the West Region in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils face rival and No. 8 seed North Carolina in a national semifinal Saturday night in New Orleans.The Blue Devils badly want to give retiring coach Mike Krzyzewski his sixth national championship as a going-away present. Coach K has reached a record 13th Final Four and has done a good job of deflecting attention away from himself during the NCAA Tournament. People are also reading… Duke has won its four NCAA Tournament games by an average of 10 points, but the 78-69 win over Arkansas in the Elite Eight doesn't properly reflect the sound beating the Blue Devils delivered. If Duke plays the way it did in the second half against the Razorbacks, it's hard to see the club falling short against North Carolina. Duke and North Carolina split in the regular season. The Blue Devils won, 87-67, at Chapel Hill and the Tar Heels posted a 94-81 victory in Durham in Coach K's final home game. The Blue Devils have won 13 of their past 15 games and are looking more and more like a title team with each game. But an interesting thing to note is that Duke is just 5-5 in its last 10 games against the spread. The spread appears fair for this matchup but it can't be forgotten that this is one of the biggest rivalries in the history of the sport. Plus, this is the first time the two teams have ever faced one another in the NCAA Tournament. So emotions will play a big part early in the contest, in the middle portion of the game and toward the end. If it comes down to late-game pressure situations, Coach K draws the edge over first-year coach Hubert Davis of North Carolina. And the Blue Devils have Paolo Banchero on their side. Banchero averaged 18 points in the two regular-season matchups and the fantastic freshman figures to have another big game on the Final Four stage.Freshman AJ Griffin was fabulous against Arkansas with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. But that performance isn't the best of his career. You can find his top outing on Feb. 5 when he scored 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting in the road win over North Carolina. Griffin averaged 9.3 points over Duke's first three NCAA tourney games before making a splash against the Razorbacks. Another possible key is big man Mark Williams, who was 6-for-6 shooting while contributing 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots against Arkansas. Krzyzewski said Williams blocked and altered so many shots that he would have won the Vezina Trophy for best goalie if the sport was hockey.Compelling prop bet Banchero is the clear favorite to win March Madness MOP honors with Duke shining brightly in the tournament. Banchero is averaging 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in the four victories. He shot 55% from the field over the first three games before falling off to 4 of 11 against Arkansas. Kansas' Ochai Agbaji enters the Final Four as Banchero's main competition. But expect Banchero to move another step closer to the honor with a stellar outing and a win against North Carolina.Duke has a winning record against the spread but it has been a break-even proposition over the past 10 games. In the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils are 3-1 and failed to cover against Cal State Fullerton in their opener before doing so against Michigan State, Texas Tech and Arkansas. Duke stands 21-16-1 in Over/Unders with two of its NCAA Tournament games going over and two dipping under.Gambling problem? There is help. Call 1-800-522-4700 or visit the National Council on Problem Gambling for help. Mike Sullivan has covered college basketball and the betting landscape for more than two decades, now for Field Level Media.Subscribe for just 23¢ per week Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community.
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