The top-seeded Duke Blue Devils take the first step toward their 22nd Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title when they face the No. 9 seed Syracuse Orange in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Duke (26-5, 16-4) last won the ACC tournament championship in 2019 and, after the 2020 event was not completed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, had its attempt to repeat halted last year when it was forced to withdraw due to health and safety protocols. Syracuse (16-16, 9-11) advanced by cruising to a 96-57 victory against Florida State in the second round on Wednesday.

Tipoff from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY is set for noon ET. The Blue Devils are 15-point favorites in the latest Duke vs. Syracuse odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 149.5. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

Before making any Syracuse vs. Duke picks, you NEED to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

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The model knows Duke won its 20th regular-season title in 2021-22 and is looking to earn retiring head coach Mike Krzyzewski his 16th ACC tournament championship. The Blue Devils haven't lost a conference tournament game since 2018, as it posted a pair of victories last year before withdrawing from the event. Duke swept the regular-season series against Syracuse, defeating the Orange by 20 points at home in January and 25 on the road on Feb. 26.

The model also knows Syracuse ended its regular season with a four-game losing streak but came up with a strong performance against the Seminoles on Wednesday. Senior forward Cole Swider scored a game-high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, and grabbed 13 rebounds while junior guard Joseph Girard III also made four 3-pointers en route to 16 points. The Orange have lost six straight meetings with Duke and eight of the last nine, with the only victory in that span coming in overtime during the 2018-19 season.

Now, the model has set its sights on Duke vs. Syracuse. We can tell you it is leaning Under the total, and it also says one side of the spread hits well over 60 percent of the time! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any college basketball picks.

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