The No. 14 Duke Blue Devils (11-3, 2-1 ACC) take on the NC State Wolfpack (11-4, 1-3) Wednesday. Tip at PNC Arena is at 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Duke vs. NC State odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
While some teams with new coaches such as Villanova have suffered this season, Duke and John Scheyer have kept the Blue Devils steady. They picked up an 86-67 victory over Florida State last time out on Saturday, covering as 17-point favorites. Duke is getting better as the season goes on as many young teams do, and it will be a tough squad come tournament time.
NC State is hoping to regain some of the success it had in the 1980s under Jim Valvano. Coach Kevin Keatts and leading scorer G Terquavion Smith (18.1 points per game) are looking to get the Wolfpack into the tournament. This will be a tough task as after a 10-1 non-conference record, NC State is already 1-3 in the ACC. With the rest of the games soon being conference play, a .500 record on the season is closer to reality for this team.