Purdue vs. Duke (-8.5) Point Spread Picks

Duke (31-5, 20-14-1 ATS) has rattled off six straight wins, two of which have come during March Madness. The Blue Devils opened the tourney by embarrassing No. 16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 73-44 before stomping on No. 8 Cal with a 68-53 victory. Duke covered both of those match ups, though it did little to improve a dismal run against the spread; the team is just 4-6 in its last 10 games on college basketball odds.

Kyle Singler has been the top Blue Devil thus far. The junior forward dominated Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 22 points and 10 rebounds; he followed up the double-double with a solid performance against Cal, dropping 17 points and grabbing another five boards. Guard Nolan Smith also busted out against the Golden Bears by scoring a game-high 20 points. Don't expect much scoring from anyone but the starters, though; Duke's bench has scored a total of just 17 points through two games. Where Duke really makes its money is on defense, however. The team has been nearly impossible to score on after holding Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 32 percent shooting and California to 39 percent.

Purdue (29-5, 14-18-2 ATS) has gutted its way to back-to-back victories. The Boilermakers opened with a 72-64 victory over No. 13 Siena before escaping with a 63-61 win over No. 5 Texas A&M. Despite going 5-1 in its last six games and covering two straight, Purdue has struggled at the sportsbook-the Boilermakers are just 3-6-1 in their past 10 games on NCAA basketball odds.

Many expected Purdue to quickly wash out after it lost Robbie Hummel to a leg injury just before March Madness began. The forward was second on Purdue in both scoring (15.7 points per game) and rebounding (6.9 rebounds per game) and, obviously, that kind of production is hard to replace. The Boilermakers have found a way, though. Center JaJuan Johnson stepped up in the first game with a double-double, pouring in 23 points and hauling down 15 rebounds. Guard Chris Kramer made his presence felt in the following match up with 17 points and seven boards. Most importantly, Purdue has played tough "D" by limiting opponents to 34 percent shooting thus far.

Duke has gone under the total in eight of its past 10 outings, including three consecutive games. Purdue, meanwhile, has gone under in six of its last 10 games. BetUS.com has the total set at 127.

Game Prediction

Take Duke