North Carolina vs. Duke college basketball odds: Mike Krzyzewski's home finale Saturday; Blue Devils not been profitable home bet vs. Tar Heels
College basketball fans either love or hate Duke. There's no in between, just like there isn't for Notre Dame football. Duke became the marquee program in the country because of Coach Mike Krzyzewski, and Saturday vs. rival North Carolina is the final home game in the Hall of Famer's career. It might be the toughest regular-season ticket to get in the sport's history with Cameron Indoor Stadium only holding about 9,300 fans. Prices are at Super Bowl-plus levels. The No. 4 Blue Devils opened as 12.5-point favorites at Caesars Sportsbook, but Duke has not been a very profitable home against the spread bet in the rivalry over the past 25 years or so.Â
Per Darren Rovell, the current average ticket price for Saturday's game is $6,051. The average ticket for Super Bowl 56 in LA between the Rams and Bengals was $5,997.
From a purely on-the-court standpoint, Duke (26-4, 16-3 ACC) doesn't have a ton to play for as it already has wrapped up the ACC regular-season title. If the Blue Devils win out, they should be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Even if they lose Saturday and win the ACC Tournament, they still could be a No. 1. CBS Sports' Jerry Palm currently lists Duke as a No. 2 in the East (the top No. 2 seed).
North Carolina (22-8, 14-5) was on the NCAA Tournament bubble not long ago but is off it now on a four-game winning streak. DraftKings gives the Heels -750 odds to make the Big Dance and +500 for no.
UNC is second in the ACC and is guaranteed a double-bye in the conference tournament. Duke was a 3.5-point favorite on Feb. 9 when it visited Chapel Hill and embarrassed the Heels 87-67. The Blue Devils shot 57.9 percent in a game that really wasn't ever in doubt. It was Coach K's 17th victory in the Smith Center, where he coached against the Tar Heels in its opening game in January 1986.
Krzyzewski has been the coach at Duke since 1980. Saturday will be his 97th against the Heels and he's 50-46 against them. Accurate betting records go back 26 years in the rivalry and Duke is 16-10 straight up at home vs. UNC but 8-18 against the spread. UNC has dominated ATS of late overall, covering in seven of the last nine in the sport's best rivalry. The past 10 times Duke has been a double-digit favorite vs. UNC at any location, it is 8-2 SU and 4-6 ATS.Â
Overall, Krzyzewski is 1,123-306 at Duke and 1,196-365 overall in his 47 seasons of coaching, which started at alma mater Army. Syracuse's Jim Boeheim is second with 1,098 wins and at age 77 will not coach long enough to pass Coach K, whose first game as coach at Cameron Indoor Stadium was a 67-49 Duke win over Stetson on Nov. 29, 1980.
ESPN College GameDay will be on hand Saturday as will reportedly at least 80 former Duke players, including some of the biggest stars in the history of the sport. CBS Sports ran a list this week of the best Duke players under Coach K and Christian Laettner was No. 1. Grant Hill was No. 2 and it has been confirmed he will be in Durham.
Coach K has brought Duke to 12 Final Fours and the Blue Devils are +275 to reach New Orleans this April. To win a sixth national title under Krzyzewski, Duke is +1200. It is a -130 favorite to win the ACC Tournament.Â
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