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The Duke Blue Devils are 10-3 straight up and 7-6 against the spread in their last 13 games against the North Carolina Tar Heels according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database. The Blue Devils will seek a fourth straight win against their hated rivals this Wednesday in Chapel Hill.
Duke, a 5.5-point road underdog for Wednesday, is going off at +1600 on the odds to win the NCAA Tournament this season at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. North Carolina is a much bigger favorite to win the championship at the moment, on the board at +800.
Boasting another team loaded up with young players, Coach K's group went through some growing pains in January with a 1-4 SU and ATS slump that included two losses at home. But so far in February, Duke seems to have turned a corner, going 4-0 SU and 2-2 ATS while picking up two wins over ranked teams against Louisville and Virginia.
Led by their guard duo of Grayson Allen with 20.6 points per game and Brandon Ingram with 17.2, the Blue Devils have one of the top offenses in the nation scoring 83.4 points per game.
While Chapel Hill is generally a tough place to play, Duke has enjoyed success there in recent years. The Blue Devils are 5-3 SU and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games at North Carolina.
North Carolina entered the month of February with a 19-2 SU record, but slumped through a three-game road trip with a 1-2 SU and 0-3 ATS mark. The Tar Heels bounced back nicely with a convincing 85-64 win and cover at home against Pittsburgh on Sunday, and will try to carry that momentum into Wednesday's game against Duke.
One key to UNC's offensive attack against the Blue Devils will be the play of senior forward Brice Johnson, who is averaging a double-double this season with 16.4 points and 10 rebounds per game.
To this point in the season, both Duke and North Carolina have only two wins each against ranked opponents. Both of Duke's have come over the team's last two games, and North Carolina hasn't had one since December. In addition to adding another chapter to this rivalry, this game will serve as a measuring stick for both of these teams as March approaches.