The 5th-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers (22-10) and 4th-seeded Duke Blue Devils (23-8) meet Thursday in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. Tip at Greensboro Coliseum is at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Pittsburgh vs. Duke odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Pittsburgh went 8-1 from Jan. 25-Feb. 25, but it enters the ACC tourney after back-to-back losses at the end of the regular season to finish 14-6 in league action. The Panthers play at a slower-than-average pace and are efficient on defense, but they have allowed 78 or more points in 4 of their last 5 games.
Duke enters the ACC Tournament on a roll. The Blue Devils went 14-6 in conference play but have won 6 straight games and are 9-2 over their last 11 outings. Duke — which is ranked 21st nationally — has held foes to a 38.4 % mark from the floor over the 6-game win streak.
Rankings courtesy the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
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Pittsburgh vs. Duke odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:51 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Pittsburgh +210 (bet $100 to win $210) | Duke -260 (bet $260 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Pittsburgh +6.5 (-115) | Duke -6.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 141.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Pittsburgh vs. Duke picks and predictions
Prediction
Duke 74, Pittsburgh 63
Moneyline
Pittsburgh has been off its game of late, and Duke has its defense cranked up and is perhaps hitting stride at the right time after a couple of lulls in the regular season.
The price here is near fair, but better value can be found against the number.
PASS.
Against the spread
Duke’s recent outings against Virginia Tech (81-65 win on Feb. 25) and North Carolina (62-57 win Saturday) bode well for how the Devils might handle Pittsburgh.
The Devils overcame an outlier-bad shooting performance and a 1st-half deficit to earn a 77-69 triumph in their lone regular-season meeting with the Panthers (Jan. 11 in Durham). Duke went just 6-of-27 (22.2%) from distance in that game.
DU is not a good 3-point shooting team, but it will likely improve on that performance. Where this youthful squad is really improved of late is in taking care of the basketball, getting to the free-throw line and defending at the other end. Those factors should loom large in what figures as a double-digit Duke win Thursday.
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BACK THE BLUE DEVILS -6.5 (-105).
Over/Under
The Under is 5-0 in Duke’s last 5 neutral-site games and 7-1-1 in its last 9 games against foes playing .600-or-better basketball.
Pitt 3s and Devils’ 2nd-chance points are the main spiral factors in this one. That’s not a major worry though — and the pace figures to be a dialed-down.
TAKE THE UNDER 141.5 (-110).
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