Duke vs Georgia Tech Odds
| Duke Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8.5 -115 | 137.5 -110o / -110u | -430 |
| Georgia Tech Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8.5 -105 | 137.5 -110o / -110u | +330 |
The entire college basketball world was buzzing Monday night after the controversial finish between the Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Tech Hokies.
With under 20 seconds remaining, Duke star freshman Kyle Filipowski was elbowed in the throat (essentially throat-punched) by the Hokies' MJ Collins after he hit a go-ahead jumper to give Virginia Tech the 77-75 lead.
No whistles were heard, and the outrage from the Duke bench ensued. After review, the officials ruled that it was accidental contact, and no flagrant was called.
Virginia Tech went on to win the game and covered the opening number (-2). As a gambler, you never feel sorry when you end up winning a bet because of a blatant non-foul call.
I watched my Twitter timeline explode — and my green dot in the Action App turn into a checkmark. But, as Stuckey always says, "Who cares, we're on to the next."
With all of that being said, I know the Blue Devils are salivating to get back on the court this afternoon.
They'll be on the road at McCamish Pavilion, where the reeling Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are coming off a 21-point blowout loss at Clemson.
Is this a perfect get-right spot for the Blue Devils? Let's take a look at the Duke vs. Georgia Tech matchup from a betting perspective.
Duke Blue Devils
There's no question that Filipowski is quickly becoming a name to be reckoned with throughout the country.
He's coming off a 29-point, 10-rebound performance, where he ended up going 4-of-8 from downtown.
He continues to get better as the season goes on, and despite the disappointing record thus far, he will be a big reason that the Blue Devils remain in the ACC mix.
Coming off an injury, Jeremy Roach continues to be a really important piece to the backcourt. The stats may not be there, but the way he patrols the floor and his veteran leadership is key to Duke's offensive success.
We need to stay focused on the Duke offense, and the key to this handicap is the number 70.
Monday night was the first time Duke has lost all season after scoring 70+ points (11-1 overall).
On the injury front, the Blue Devils will not have forward Dariq Whitehead for this matchup, but they did receive some good news that the lower-leg injury was not as bad as they had feared.
I would expect the Dukies to lean more heavily on forward Mark Mitchell, whereas Filipowski will continue to get the bulk of the scoring opportunities.
Duke ranks in the middle of the pack nationally in terms of defensive efficiency, so I believe if it can eclipse 70 points here, it will have an extremely good chance to come out on top.
I expect big games from Filipowski and Roach, as the talent gap here should be quite significant.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Ugh. That's the first word I think of when someone asks me about this Georgia Tech team.
I thought I had finally figured the Jackets out when they had a nice victory over Miami a couple of weeks ago, but it's been an absolute disaster since.
Hand up, I've backed them multiple times in the past few weeks and it's been very ugly.
Every gambler has a list of teams that they compile throughout a particular season that they will not bet, and this Yellow Jackets team landed on my list after this past weekend.
If Josh Pastner's squad wants to turn things around, it's going to have to continue to rely heavily on guards Miles Kelly and Deebo Coleman.
The problem with this matchup is I see Rodney Howard and Javon Franklin having an extremely tough time containing the Blue Devils' frontcourt.
Georgia Tech ranks in the bottom third of the country in defensive efficiency (211th), so if it wants to have any shot in this game, it will have to score early and often.
The Yellow Jackets got absolutely whacked by 21 points on the road by Clemson on Tuesday night, and I don't really expect them to turn things around here.
They've displayed some pretty uninspiring basketball in the month of January.
Currently on a six-game losing streak and with a brutal 1-9 ACC record, I don't see any reason to believe they will turn it around.
Duke vs. Georgia Tech Betting Pick
I don't really see any reason not to back Duke here.
I originally wanted to lean towards the over in this game — given what we know about the Georgia Tech defensive struggles — but I don't quite trust the Yellow Jackets' frontcourt to keep up offensively.
Also, the under is 8-2 in Duke's last 10 games, so that gives me more reason to stick with a side here.
With all of the controversy and magnitude surrounding the late no-call involving Filipowski, I expect a very inspired Duke effort here.
If the Blue Devils manage to slip up here, there's going to be a lot of people blaming Jon Scheyer.
This is a classic get-right spot, and it could not have come at a better time.
Just don't overthink it, and lay the points with the Blue Devils.
