North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Duke Blue Devils Predictions, Picks, Odds

Daniel Dobish Sports Betting Expert

6 minute read

The North Carolina Tar Heels (22-8, 14-5 ACC) travel to meet the Duke Blue Devils (26-4, 16-3) at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on ESPN.

Score Prediction

Duke 76 North Carolina 72

Best Bet

UNC +12.5 (-120)
Under 153.5 (-110)

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS VS. DUKE BLUE DEVILS PREDICTIONS

The time has come for the final game for head coach Mike Krzyzewski at Cameron Indoor Stadium as coach of the Duke Blue Devils. And the final game comes in the Battle of the Blues, as the Tar Heels travel up US 15/501 from Chapel Hill to Durham.

UNC is in a good place, winning four consecutive games while going 3-1 ATS during the win streak. The rivals would like nothing more than to grab a huge win against Duke, spoiling Coach K's finale. Duke routed North Carolina by an 87-67 score in Chapel Hill as 3.5-point favorites back on Feb. 5 as the OVER cashed.

Duke blasted Pitt last time out on the road by an 86-56 score as a 14.5-point favorite, winning for the seventh consecutive outing. Duke is 27-8 SU in games in which it is ranked and UNC is unranked. This marks the sixth consecutive time UNC enters this rivalry game as the unranked team.

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS VS. DUKE BLUE DEVILS BETTING ODDS

• UNC +570
• Duke -714
• UNC+12.5 (-120)
• Duke -11 (-110)
• Over 153.5 (-109)
• Under 153.5 (-110)

More Odds | Futures Odds

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS VS. DUKE BLUE DEVILS BETTING RESOURCES

• Matchup: ACC
• Date: Saturday, March 5, 2022
• Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium
• Location: Durham, N.C.
• TV-Time: ESPN - 6:00 p.m. ET

• Injury Report
• Wooden Award Odds
• Conference Futures Market
• Power Rankings

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 22-8
• ATS: 14-15-1
• O/U: 18-11-1

UNC is coming off an 88-79 overtime victory against Syracuse on Senior Day in Chapel Hill, winning for the fourth straight game while covering for the third time in four outings. The Tar Heels have played themselves into position for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid with a 10-2 SU record across the past 12 games, although one of the losses was the 20-point rout at home against Duke.

The Tar Heels is 3-0-1 ATS in the past four games on the road, while also going 3-0-1 ATS in the past four games against teams with a winning overall record. The Tar Heels are just 4-10-1 ATS in the past 15 games as an underdog, and 2-6-1 ATS in the past nine as a road underdog.

For totals, the OVER has dominated for UNC lately. The OVER is 8-2 in the past 10 games overall, while going 4-1 in the past five games on the road. The OVER is also 5-2 in the past seven as an underdog, and 7-3 in the past 10 as a road 'dog. The OVER is a perfect 5-0 in the past five games against teams with a winning overall record, too.

DUKE BLUE DEVILS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 26-4
• ATS: 17-11-2
• O/U: 15-14-1

Duke has covered back-to-back games, and it is 3-1 ATS in the past four games overall. Since Jan. 29, the Blue Devils are 7-4 ATS, including a 20-point win and cover at North Carolina on Feb. 5 in the first meeting.

The Blue Devils have managed just a 3-9 ATS mark in the past 12 games at home against teams with a winning road record. They're also a dismal 2-7 ATS in the past nine meetings in this series, with the OVER cashing in each of the past five meetings.

For totals, Duke has cashed the OVER in four of the past five games overall, while going 4-1 in the past five as a favorite.

INSIDE THE STATS - NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS

• Record: 22-8
• PS/G: 78.1 (32nd)
• PA/G: 72.4 (267th)
• ORtg: 109.7 (42nd)
• DRtg: 101.7 (232nd)

INSIDE THE STATS - DUKE BLUE DEVILS

• Record: 26-4
• PS/G: 80.3 (11th)
• PA/G: 65.1 (56st)
• ORtg: 116.5 (5th)
• DRtg: 94.4 (52nd)

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

• UNC: Armando Bacot - F (16.4 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 1.5 APG, 58.5 FG%)
• UNC: Caleb Love - G (15.5 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 38.4 3P%)
• DUKE: Paolo Banchero - F (16.9 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 46.5 FG%)
• DUKE: Wendell Moore, Jr. - F (13.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.5 SPG, 51.2 FG%, 40.2 3P%)

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS VS. DUKE BLUE DEVILS BETTING CONCLUSION

It's Senior Day. It's Coach K's final home game. It's the Battle of the Blues. If you're not remotely interested in this game, then college basketball just isn't for you. There is plenty of interest, as you could trade your ticket for a luxury car. Prices for tickets have skyrocketed to over $75K in some instances, with an average ticket price costing more than the recently played Super Bowl.

Most of us will be relegated to watching it on television, and that's just as well. While Duke has already locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament, the first time 2009 that Coach K's team is the top seed in the ACC tourney. Still, it has plenty to play for, as the Blue Devils do not want UNC crashing the party and spoiling K's debut. Duke won by 20 points in the first meeting, but the Tar Heels are playing much better right now, and will give the Blue Devils a much better test this time around. UNC will also feed off the raucous and emotional crowd, too.

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS VS. DUKE BLUE DEVILS BETTING TRENDS

• UNC is 3-0-1 ATS in the past four road games.
• UNC is 4-10-1 ATS in the past 15 as an underdog.
• UNC is 2-6-1 ATS in the past nine as a road 'dog.
• UNC is 3-0-1 ATS in the past four vs. winning teams.
• Duke is 3-9 ATS in the past 12 home games vs. teams with a winning road record.
• The OVER is 8-2 in the past 10 games overall for UNC.
• The OVER is 4-1 in the past five road games for UNC.
• The OVER is 5-2 in the past seven as an underdog for UNC.
• The OVER is 7-3 in the past 10 as a road underdog for UNC.
• The OVER is 5-0 in the past five vs. winning teams for UNC.
• The OVER is 4-1 in the past five games overall for Duke.
• The OVER is 4-1 in the past five as a favorite for Duke.
• The home team is 5-2 ATS in the past seven meetings.
• UNC is 7-2 ATS in the past nine meetings.
• The OVER is 5-0 in the past five meetings.

Daniel Dobish

Dan is a handicapper and sports betting expert for VegasInsider with years of experience writing for a number of top publications in the industry. More from Daniel Dobish