The 5th-seeded Duke Blue Devils (27-8) and 4th-seeded Tennessee Volunteers (24-10) meet Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Tip from Amway Center in Orlando is scheduled for approximately 2:40 p.m. ET (CBS). Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Duke vs. Tennessee odds as we make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
Duke routed Oral Roberts 74-51 in the opening game of the tourney, easily covering as a 5.5-point favorite as the Under (147) cashed.
The Blue Devils clamped down on the Golden Eagles, limiting ORU to just 30% (19 of 63) from the field and posting a plus-14 rebounding margin. Duke shot 48% (31 of 64) and turned it over just 8 times. G Jeremy Roach, the most experienced Duke player in terms of NCAA Tournament games, racked up a game-high 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
Tennessee had a close shave in a 58-55 victory over Louisiana, although it came nowhere near covering as an 11.5-point favorite while the Under (135.5) comfortably came through. Tennessee led by 18 points with 11 minutes to go, but Louisiana had a furious comeback.
The Vols shot 46% (21 of 46), but were just 57% (12 of 21) from the free-throw line. Tennessee was sloppy with 16 turnovers, and it held just a 27-to-23 rebounding margin. It will obviously have to be much better to get by Duke.
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Duke vs. Tennessee odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:25 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Duke -170 (bet $170 to win $100) | Tennessee +145 (bet $100 to win $145)
- Against the spread (ATS): Duke -3.5 (-110) | Tennessee +3.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 128.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Duke vs. Tennessee picks and predictions
Prediction
Duke 65, Tennessee 60
Moneyline
DUKE (-170) isn’t priced out of line if you’d just like to pick it straight up and avoid fiddling around with the points.
Tennessee is just 6-7 straight-up (SU) and 4-9 ATS in the past 13 games. For whatever reason, the Vols are just not hitting on all cylinders right now.
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Against the spread
Take DUKE -3.5 (-110) with the points, which is substantially cheaper.
The Blue Devils are on a roll with a season-high 10 straight wins, and they’ve covered a season-high 5 in a row, too. Duke was just 8-18 ATS in the 26 games prior to the impressive 5-0 ATS run.
The Volunteers are 4-9 ATS in the past 13 games and 1-5 ATS in the past 6 games against teams with a winning overall mark. In addition, the Vols are just 1-7 ATS in the past 8 NCAA Tournament outings.
Over/Under
The UNDER 128.5 (-110) is worth a look but with a half-unit wager at most.
The Under is 4-1 in the past 5 neutral-site games for the Vols and is 7-2 in the past 9 neutral-site games for the Blue Devils. In addition, the Under is 9-3-1 in the past 13 games for Duke against teams with a winning percentage greater than .600.
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