The Blue Devils return to action Saturday afternoon with a matchup against Boston College. Before the contest, the Blue Zone provides you with our can't-miss prop bets:
Duke (-9.5) vs. Boston College
Ahead of the Blue Devils' most recent loss to N.C. State, their start to the ACC season looked encouraging. Duke had the length and the size—in players such as Ryan Young, who is 6-foot-10, and Dereck Lively II, who stands at 7-foot-1—to be competitive against the Wolfpack. The three freshmen who started—Lively, Mark Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski—each ranked in the top 20 in the 2022 recruiting class. Additionally, armed with Jaylen Blakes, who recently played two back-to-back breakout games, and the leadership of junior captain Jeremy Roach, the lineup looked good on paper.
But when push came to shove, Duke fell down at the hands of N.C. State. The game started in the home team's favor at PNC Arena, and despite Duke eventually finding some tempo against the Wolfpack, the game ended firmly in the Raleigh outfit's favor. The defeat, which came by a 24-point margin, marks Duke's most significant of the season and signals an evident need for adjustments. With just three days in between the Blue Devils' loss and their game against Boston College, there simply may not have been enough time to make the needed changes. While Duke may return to the court and win against the Eagles, unless it also brings some new tricks up its sleeve, expect Boston College to cover the spread.
Pick: Boston College +9.5
Over/Under 132 points
Duke and Boston College may have already played each other, but that does not mean that the Blue Devil faithful know what to expect in the teams' second installment. When the teams played each other in early December, Duke did not lead from the tip. Yet, when it finally took control more than midway through the first half, it never let go. The Blue Devils led a cat-and-mouse game that landed them a second-half battle much closer than in the first half to win an intense second set of 20 minutes 40-36. It is plausible a repeat may occur with both teams coming off of intense ACC matchups heading into their game, so look out for a potential revenge match from Boston College that keeps Duke on its toes. If the Blue Devils stay sharp, they will return the favor to the Eagles and make the game a repeat of the high-energy second half in December.
Pick: Over 132 points
Ryan Young over/under 10 points
At 23-years-old, Young, a graduate student transfer from Northwestern, is one of the most experienced players suiting up in Duke blue this season. That expertise has shined recently, as the center notched double-digit points in his last three games. Though in Duke's most recent contest the Stewartsville, N.J., native tallied 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, the performance was hardly his breakout. That came the game before, when he had a perfect game against Florida State with 20 points on 7-of-7 in field goals and 6-of-6 at the charity stripe. With a game against Boston College, a team he only scored six points against last time, on the horizon, Young will look to continue his sharpshooting and continue his double-digit streak.
Pick: Over 10 points
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