Duke Blue Devils at Oregon Ducks

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Oregon Ducks (-19.5)
Game Total Line: (TBA)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

East meets West, when the Duke Blue Devils take on the Oregon Ducks this Saturday afternoon in an ACC-PAC 10 showdown. Tip-off from the Rose Garden in Portland is set for 4 p.m. (ET).

Duke is off to a solid start in defense of its national title with double-digit wins in four of its first five games. The closest contest so far was an 82-77 win over Marquette in the semifinals of the CBE Classic. The Blue Devils failed to cover as a 12-point favorite and the total went ‘over’ the 152 point line. Sophomore forward Mason Plumlee came up big in this one with a career-high 25 points along with 12 rebounds and six blocked shots. The Golden Eagles tied the game at 57 midway through the second half, but a 9-0 run put Duke ahead for good.

The Blue Devils won the tournament with a dominating 82-68 win over No. 4 Kansas State in the finals. This time Duke easily covered as a 5 ½ point favorite and the total stayed ‘under’ the 151 point line. Senior guard Nolan Smith and freshman guard Kyrie Irving led the way with 17 points each to give head coach Mike Krzyzewski his 800th career win at Duke.

Through five games, Smith is the team’s leading scorer averaging 16.6 points per game and Plumlee leads the teams in rebounds with 7.8. As a team they are shooting .498 percent from the field and .737 percent from the free-throw line.

Oregon is also off to a good start with wins in four of its first five games. The Ducks only blemish was a shocking 75-72 loss to San Jose State last Saturday in a game they were favored by 8 ½ points at home. The total did go ‘over’ the 143 ½ point line. An 8-0 run gave Oregon a two-point lead with 2:40 to play, but Justin Graham’s three pointer with 2.8 seconds left sealed the win for the Spartans.

The Ducks quickly put the loss behind them by thrashing Texas Southern 75-52 this past Tuesday. Oregon led by eight at the half and proceeded to shoot 60 percent from the floor in the second half to blow the game wide open. Junior forward Tyrone Nared came off the bench to lead the team with 13 points and six rebounds and sophomore E.J. Singler added 10 points and four rebounds in the win.

Senior Forward Joevan Catron leads the Ducks with an average of 19 points and six rebounds per game. Singler is averaging 11.6 points per game and junior guard Malcolm Armstead leads in assists with a 4.4 average.

Duke is 10-0 straight-up in its last 10 games and 7-2 against the spread in its last nine. The total has stayed ‘under’ in five of its last nine games overall. This season, the Blue Devils are 3-1 ATS and the total line has been evenly split at 2-2. Oregon is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games but just 4-5 ATS in its last nine. The total has gone ‘over’ in seven of its last eight games overall. This season the Ducks are 1-3 ATS and the total has gone ‘over’ in two of the three games that had a closing line.

The Ducks are a very talented team, but still working out some early season kinks while the Blue Devils are already in late season tournament form. Stay with Duke all the way in this one.
Take the Duke Blue Devils -19.5 at Betus.