Duke Favored To Reverse Losing Ways in Blacksburg
Duke is Favored Despite Dropping Its Last Two Road Games To Virginia Tech
Will This Be the Fifth Straight Duke-Virginia Tech Clash to Land Over?
Before a weekend clash with rival North Carolina, Duke heads the Blacksburg for a challenging road game. The visiting Blue Devils are listed as the favorite according to the Duke vs Virginia Tech odds.
Virginia Tech has won five of the last six home games against Duke, with the Hokies covering in all five of those victories.
The college basketball spread as Duke listed as the 3.5-point favorite with a Moneyline of -165 to win the game outright. Virginia Tech is priced at +145 to come away with another home win at the expense of the favored Hokies.
Duke won the most recent meeting 81-65 as a seven-point home favorite. It was the fourth straight game between these NCAAB teams to go over the total.
Duke is just 2-4 against the spread in its last six games as the road favorite.
Christian Reeves, who hasn’t played since Nov. 29, is questionable for Duke. Mekhi Long, the No. 2 rebounder for Virginia Tech, is questionable as well.
Duke is tied for 11th at +3000 in the odds of winning March Madness. Virginia Tech is well back at +25000 in the championship odds. When the season started, Duke was priced at +1300, and Virginia Tech was at +13000 in the odds of winning the national title.
Duke is 12th in offensive efficiency and 37th in defensive efficiency according to the 2023 KenPom rankings. Virginia Tech is ranked 63rd in offensive efficiency compared to being No. 52 in defensive efficiency.
Duke vs Virginia Tech
Day/Time:
Records: Duke 15-4 (6-2 in the ACC)/Virginia Tech 13-7 (5-4 in the ACC)
Location: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA
Filipowski Looking To Bounce Back
It might not be the best news for Virginia Tech that Duke’s leading scorer, Kyle Filipowski, had nine points in 24 minutes before fouling out in the most recent game against Clemson.
The other two times when Filipowski was held under 10 points this college basketball season, he responded with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in a win of Hofstra and 26 points to go with 10 rebounds in a victory at Pittsburgh.
Filipowski had 29 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes the last time Duke played at Virginia Tech. Keep that in mind when looking at the Duke vs Virginia Tech odds.
Duke is 1-4-1 against the spread over its last six games.
Hokies Starting to Hit Their Stride
After being held to 57 and 71 points in back-to-back conference losses to Miami and Virginia, the Hokies have kicked things up offensively.
During a three-game winning streak, Virginia Tech shot 52.5% from the field and hit 29 3-pointers in wins over North Carolina State, Boston College, and Georgia Tech. That could come into play when looking at the Duke vs Virginia Tech odds.
Lynn Kidd averaged 14 points and five rebounds during those three games.
Virginia Tech scored 91 points on Georgia Tech despite leading scorer Sean Pedulla seeing his run of double-digit scoring games snapped at six.
Virginia Tech is 4-2 against the spread over its last six NCAA basketball games.
Last Meeting
Jeremy Roach had 19 points and 11 assists as all five Duke starters scored in double figures as the Blue Devils covered as the seven-point favorites with an 81-65 win over visiting Virginia Tech.
The game landed over the 140-point total on a Ryan Young free throw with 1:16 left to play.
It marked the fifth time in the last six games between the Hokies and Blue Devils that the home team won the game outright, with the winning team also covering.
Virginia Tech vs Duke Betting Preview
When looking at the college basketball scores, winning on the road has been a struggle for Virginia Tech as the Hokies have dropped four of the five road games this season and are 3-6 away from home.
It won’t be easy to reverse that trend, even if Duke already has two home losses. The Blue Devils have covered in just one of its last seven games at Virginia Tech.
Duke is 3-2 as a road favorite this season, and Virginia Tech won its lone game as the home underdog.
Duke is 15-4 when listed as the favorite by the NCAAB picks, while the Hokies are 3-4 outright as the underdog.
The Blue Devils have covered in seven of the 11 home games. Virginia Tech covered against the Las Vegas odds in just one road game.
The total has gone under in 10 of Duke’s last 14 road games, with the total for this game currently at 146.5.
Although Duke’s recent track record of covering as a road favorite is not overly impressive, it is hard to pick against the Blue Devils in this matchup.
For NCAAB betting news, NCAA odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.