The Duke Blue Devils just dropped out of the top 25 after 91 straight ranked weeks, and at 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the ACC they are now uncharacteristically underrated. If Duke can stay healthy from here on out, this should be a great opportunity to make some money betting on the Blue Devils.
Duke is coming off their second consecutive loss, but
those tight road losses were to two of the best teams in the ACC. The Blue Devils have also been playing
without their best player Jalen Johnson, who finally returned for a full game
against Pittsburgh and delivered a masterful performance, looking like a guy
who should be in the conversation for the #1 pick in the 2021 draft. Johnson finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds,
7 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals with 0 turnovers in 33 minutes, and although
Duke still lost the game, the Blue Devils have a chance to be a Final Four team
with Johnson on the floor.
As a UNC grad I’m certainly no Duke fan, but I’m
expecting a very big finish to the regular season for this Blue Devil squad. Freshmen guards D.J. Steward and Jeremy Roach
are starting to play much better and under control, giving Duke two quick and
aggressive ball-handling floor generals capable of scoring or setting up
teammates.
Matthew Hurt is the ACC’s 2nd leading
scorer and gives Duke a versatile inside/outside threat who can make shots from
all over the floor. If Duke can get
consistent contributions from either Wendell Moore Jr. or Jaemyn Brakefield on
the wing, this team has a chance to go on a big run and finish at or near the
top of the ACC.
With arguably the best coach of all-time and a handful
of highly-touted freshmen starting to figure things out, I’d recommend placing
some wagers on the Blue Devils from here on out, starting with their matchup at
Louisville on Saturday.
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