The No. 4 seed Arkansas Razorbacks (28-8) and the second-seeded Duke Blue Devils (31-6) meet Saturday for an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight West Region matchup. Tip-off from Chase Center in San Francisco is scheduled for 8:49 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we look at the Arkansas vs. Duke odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Razorbacks bounced No. 1 seed Gonzaga 74-68 Thursday as 9.5-point underdogs. It was impressive that the Hogs won considering they shot just 40.3%, including 28% from downtown, and one of its two best players — G Stanley Umude — was limited to 6 points. G JD Notae also misfired on 20 of his 29 field-goal attempts.
Duke dispatched Texas Tech 78-73 Thursday and covered for the second consecutive outing. The Blue Devils haven’t recorded three covers in a row since a 3-0 ATS run from Jan. 29-Feb. 5.
See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
Arkansas vs. Duke odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:30 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Arkansas +155 (bet $100 to win $155) | Duke -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Arkansas +4.5 (-120) | Duke -4.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 147.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Arkansas vs. Duke odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Duke 76, Arkansas 73
Money line
Duke (-190) is just a little too expensive for my taste, costing nearly two times your potential return.
Arkansas (+155) didn’t play its best game against Gonzaga and still came away with the big victory Thursday. It would be the play here if anything based on value, but it’s hard to envision Coach K’s career ending here.
PASS.
Against the spread
ARKANSAS +4.5 (-120) is a tremendous value catching more than two buckets in this regional final.
While I believe full well that Duke gets it done here, advancing to the Final Four in Coach K’s final run at the helm, the Razorbacks are going to give the Blue Devils all they can handle. It’s set up perfectly for one, final, titanic Battle of the Blues between Duke and North Carolina, isn’t it?
Over/Under
The OVER 147.5 (-110) is the way to go here, but it’s going to be super close.
The Under has cashed in each of the last two tournament games for the Razorbacks, although the Over is 13-6 in the past 19 games for them as underdogs and 7-2 in their last nine games overall.
The Over has been a frequent occurrence for Duke, going 13-3 in its past 16 games overall, 13-3 in its last 16 as a favorite and 7-3 in its last 10 NCAA Tournament games.
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