No. 11 Duke men's basketball will head north to take on an improved Pittsburgh team Tuesday evening. The Blue Zone is here with some can't-miss prop bets:
Duke (-5.5) vs. Pittsburgh
The Panthers are a stronger team than they have been in years past, thanks in large part to the work of former Blue Devil and current head coach Jeff Capel. Despite some degree of improvement, Duke is still the markedly better squad. The Blue Devils are coming off a legacy game from sophomore forward Mark Mitchell against Notre Dame, and have built up some momentum after a rocky start to the year. They seem to have settled in and regained confidence, and will be looking to come out of this matchup with a 2-1 conference record.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has still struggled to start the year. The Panthers are 1-3 in the ACC, with their only win coming recently against a bad Louisville group. Senior forward Blake Hinson has been the primary option on offense for the home team, averaging 19.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. If he gets going and has some help from his teammates, the Panthers could cover the spread. It is more than likely, however, that the Blue Devils pull away from Pittsburgh in this one.
Pick: Duke -5.5
Over/Under 146.5 points
Duke has long been a program that prides itself on defense, and this year is no exception. The Blue Devils have held all of their six most recent opponents to 70 points or less. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has been scoring relatively well this season. The Panthers are averaging a respectable, but not remarkable, 79.1 points per game. It is entirely possible that Duke is able to get its offense going and move above the line without much help from Pittsburgh, but it's more likely that this game’s total hits under the line.
Pick: Under 146.5 points
Kyle Filipowski over/under 15.5 points
Last week's outing was a less-than-ideal one for the sophomore center, who posted just seven points and five rebounds against the Fighting Irish. With that in mind, look for this game to be a bounce-back one for Filipowski. He's been averaging 16.8 points per game this year, and his performance against Notre Dame was not a representative one. Look for him to space the floor, find his stroke from behind the arc and put up a healthy amount of points in a return to scoring form.
Pick: Over 15.5 points
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