2017 – Bettors World

Baylor Kansas CBB

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Baylor

Kansas

College Basketball Pick

2/1/17

While these teams play again in a couple weeks, this Game can still go a long way in deciding the Big 12 regular season champion. Both Kansas and Baylor come in with 7-1 Conference records, two wins above any other team. For the Jayhawks to win their 12th-straight title, it appears that Baylor is the only team standing in its path. Winning yet another Game at Allen Fieldhouse will be the first step in getting there.

KU lost at West Virginia last week, but is coming off a huge win at Kentucky on Saturday. The Jayhawks left Rupp Arena with everyone stunned as the Wildcats lost yet another home Game and second straight overall. Kansas more than showed its potential in that Game and why it has the best backcOurt in the nation. against Kentucky, Frank Mason, Devonte’ Graham and Josh Jackson combined for 43 of the team’s 79 points and got production from role players Svi Mykhailiuk and LAnden LUcas. While they don’t have much on the bench, this Kansas team has the tools to be National Champion in April. Of course, they still have some questions in the frontcOurt with LUcas their only real big. Kentucky wasn’t able to capitalize on that, but Baylor is built a bit differently.

The Bears have multiple bigs down low that can Scoreled by Johnathan Motley, who has been one of the best players in the country this season with 16.2 points and 9.6 boards per Game. Baylor escaped Ole Miss on Saturday and will need a much better performance to win in LAwrence. But this Game could play out a little differently with Kansas lacking size outside of LUcas and with Carlton Bragg suspended. LUcas will get to mark the improved 7-foot Jo LUal-Acuil, who gets better by the Game. The bigger problem is who guards Motley and all signs point to KU playing a defense other than man. Jackson and Mykhailiuk simply aren’t big or strong enough to contain someone like Motley. To go with that, Baylor’s bigs are great rim protectors on the other end and a main reason they allow the worst two-point FG percentage in the Big 12.

So while Mason, Graham and Jackson are all great at driving to the hole, this is a Game that their shooting needs to come through in. And conveniently, the Jayhawks have the best three-point percentage in the Conference with three guys having already made at least 44 from deep. Baylor’s task will be to limit the open looks for all of them. So far, Manu Lecomte, Al Freeman and Ishmail Wainwright have all been great defensively, but this is a different test entirely. If Kansas is hitting its shots at home, it’s going to take a complete effort from the Baylor team to win and that’s not out of the question.

Due to their size advantage, the Bears should win the rebounding battle, which also means winning on the offensive glass. If they can do that, they’ll remain competitive. Of course, it was a similar situation last season and while the teams were different, Baylor still had the size advantage. Kansas ended up getting out to an early lead and that was it in a 102-74 win. If KU is hitting shots against the Baylor zone, it could be another long Game for the Bears. But with Motley, LUal-Acuil and Nuni Omot working in the paint, it’s hard to see Baylor getting blown out again in this situation. Then again, it’s never good to doubt Kansas at home.

Our Pick Kansas by -6.5

Iowa State Purdue

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Iowa State

vs.

Purdue

March Madness

College Basketball Pick

3/18/17

To close out Saturday night is one of the more interesting matchups of the day with Purdue against Iowa State. Both were easily better than their first-round opponents, but still had a couple scares before the end of the Game. With little to fully separate these teams, the Boilermakers opened as -1 point favorites at 5 Dimes Sportsbook for the Game in Milwaukee.

This is an interesting matchup because both of these teams present such different types of basketball. Purdue builds its offense around two bigs in Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas while Iowa State plays a version of small ball with Monte Morris at the helm. Yet at the end of the day, both are extremely efficient as two of the best three-point shooting teams in the country. But one difference is in the turnover department with Iowa State rarely turning it over, while Purdue is about average in that area. With close Games, turnovers can usually determine a lot.

The Boilermakers are going to have the obvious size advantage, but that doesn’t mean everything. Purdue often had a size edge this season, yet fell to smaller teams like Villanova and Michigan. Haas could be close to unstoppable, but the Cyclones are athletic at every spot on the floor and if you get him away from the hoop defensively, a lot of easy baskets can be had. The same can be said for Deonte Burton and Swanigan. Burton is a bit smaller, yet may have the quickness offensively to match whatever Swanigan does on the other end.

While Purdue runs through its bigs, this Game could fall on what the rest of the team does. Vincent Edwards has played really well as of late and could end up being a problem for an Iowa State team already lacking frontcOurt height. As for the guards, Carsen Edwards, PJ Thompson and Dakota Mathias simply have to hit open shots and play good defense. If they can do that, the Boilers will have enough to advance to the next round.

But stopping this Iowa State team coming off a Big 12 Tournament title is not going to be easy. OUtside of rare production from bigs in Solomon Young and Darrell Bowie, everyone else on the team can shoot and create shots on his own. Morris runs the show, but Nazareth Mitrou-Long, Matt Thomas and Burton can all do plenty of things. Even Donovan Jackson off the bench can prove to be useful at times scoring 12 points against Nevada. But even if all of those guys can find some kind of success, it’s going to depend on how Burton, Young and Bowie play the towers on the other end.

Both teams are good at shooting, but the Cyclones have to depend on that more with their spread-it-out type of basketball. When it gets to the under-Four timeout, will they be able to stop either Swanigan or Haas or the post? The Cyclones may not foul a ton and that could change in this Game. And if Purdue has that success, it’ll mean that Morris and company have to hit shots, which makes the Boilers the easier team to trust.

Our Pick – Iowa State +1

Michigan St Indiana CBB

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Michigan State

vs.

Indiana

College Basketball Pick

1/21/17

This Game was supposed to be a battle of two of the conference’s best, but that’s far from what this matchup is. Michigan State and Indiana have been two of the more unpredictable teams in the country this season. One night the Spartans are blowing out Minnesota, the next they lose to Penn State and Ohio State. At a time the Hoosiers were beating the best teams in the country, but in Big Ten play have fallen apart.

Now, both teams are battling in mediocrity with an 8- or 9-seed in the NCAA Tournament the likely outcome at this point. Getting over that hump starts with this Game. The Spartans haven’t been good on the road, losing at Ohio State last weekend and against Penn State before that. They scraped by Minnesota, but that was after being down 15 points in the first half. Winning at Assembly Hall will be harder than any of those previous Games, considering the Hoosiers have finally picked it up a notch, winning their last two at home by at least 16 points. Of course, Illinois and Rutgers are a level below Michigan State.

MSU dominated this matchup a year ago in East LAnsing winning by 19 points, but these teams are much different. Michigan State is one of the youngest teams in the country and leads the nation in bench minutes. But the main issue in this Game is Indiana’s defense, which has hurt them the most over the last month. The Spartans have the players to capitalize on that, but haven’t been too consistent on the road.

Miles Bridges and Nick Ward are the main players to focus on, but both will have tough matchups. Thomas Bryant has been disappointing to say the least this season for Indiana, but going against the freshman Ward, Tom Crean will likely want to lean on that matchup. Ward had trouble guarding Ohio State’s bigs last Game. On the other end of that, if Bryant doesn’t play tight defense, Ward’s offensive Game is one of the best in the post in the conference. The problem for the Spartans is that Bridges will have the able Juwan Morgan and OG Anunoby guarding him most of this Game and he could have his issues. Bridges caught fire against the Buckeyes, but with Anunoby being one of the better on-ball defenders in the conference, that could lead to trouble.

So if those guys cancel each other out, it’ll come down to the backcOurts and that edge slightly goes to Indiana with James Blackmon Jr. and Robert Johnson. Blackmon continues to be one of the best scorers in the Big Ten, averaging 17.5 points per Game in just under 30 minutes. Johnson is in that same fold, but a little less at 13.7 points per Game. Michigan State has good field goal defense, but that’s purely a case-by-case scenario.

For the Spartans to have a shot, they’ll need guys like Eron Harris, Joshua LAngford, Cassius Winston and Tum Tum Nairn to match what Blackmon and Johnson do. And that’s where the problems arise. Harris is the team’s third-leading scorer, but he’s played just 30 minutes total the last two Games. OUtside of him, no one else is averaging more than 6.5 points per Game.

The Spartans haven’t shown much in Conference road Games. Now at Assembly Hall with Tom Izzo still tinkering around his lineup, this is a Game Indiana can jump out to a lead in and never give up as long as Bridges or Ward doesn’t catch fire.

Please check back for Our pick

Purdue Nw CBB

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Purdue

Northwestern

College Basketball Pick

3/5/17

It’s been an incredible season for Northwestern and it’s far from over as the Wildcats look headed to their first NCAA Tournament ever. They all but insured a bid in an incredible win against Michigan on Wednesday, but now get an even tougher Purdue team. To help, Purdue doesn’t have much to play for in terms of the Big Ten as it already at least won a share of the regular season title. Of course, the Boilermakers still are playing for a 4-seed if not something more come March Madness.

When these teams met in West LAfayette on the first day of February, it was the first Game that Northwestern’s leading scorer SCottie Lindsey missed due to mono (Nathan Taphorn didn’t play either). And so, the Boilermakers got out to a quick lead and never looked back in an 80-59 win. Without Lindsey, the Wildcats were a bit thin and only really played seven guys, which didn’t help against a Purdue team that draws loads of fouls. And so, even in a blowout, Northwestern had six players with at least three fouls and three of them with Four fouls. Caleb Swanigan finished with 24 points and 16 boards and Isaac Haas added 11 points off the bench. While Lindsey isn’t going to stop those guys, it will limit the amount of time that freshman Isiah Brown has to play. Brown ended up playing a season-high 34 minutes in that loss.

But the main thing for Lindsey is that Northwestern needs to get him going. since returning from illness, he’s been a far cry from the player he was in mid-January when he went for 20-plus points in back-to-back Games. If Lindsey continues to struggle, so will the team, no matter what Bryant McIntosh does. Of course, the biggest thing for the Wildcats is stopping the likes of Swanigan and Haas. While Lindsey gets all the attention, the absence of Taphorn can’t be overstated from that first Game. He doesn’t play all that much, but gives Northwestern another guy with size that can battle and extend Purdue’s defense on the perimeter. Still, this Game is going to fall on Dererk Pardon, Barret Benson, Gavin Skelly and Sanjay LUmpkin to have a bigger impact on the Game. Those Four have to deal with Haas and also stop Swanigan from getting wide-open looks on the perimeter.

Northwestern hasn’t been a good rebounding team all season, so that could end up being the difference again. And if they plan on doubling down low, it’s a must they get out to the three-point shooters quicker than last Game when Purdue went 12-of-23 from long range. This is a difficult matchup for Northwestern, but with Lindsey and Taphorn in the lineup unlike last time, this one should be a lot closer. Then you throw in this being the final home Game of the season for the Wildcats in what is set to be their best season ever and you have an amped environment that could give Northwestern the added touch to winning this Game.

Our Pick – Northwestern +3.5

Wisconsin Michigan CBB

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Wisconsin

Michigan

College Basketball Pick

2/16/17

Wisconsin was going to have a nice two-Game lead in the Big Ten standings ahead of this Game, but things didn’t work out that way. The Badgers unexpectedly lost in Madison to Northwestern on Sunday and now get to travel to Ann Arbor to take on a hot-shooting Michigan team. Suddenly, the Badgers could be looking like just another Big Ten team with a loss here, which will be more than possible.

The Wolverines gave Wisconsin a scare in their first meeting, but now it appears they are playing their best basketball of the season. After falling at home to Ohio State, Michigan came alive in a 29-point win against Michigan State and then most recently won at Indiana by 12 points. Considering how this Game went the first time around, it could end much better for Michigan.

No one expected the Wolverines to have a chance in that first Game, but kept things tight most of the way and led for a good portion of the second half until about five minutes left when Wisconsin went on a little run. The biggest thing was that they got something (20 points) out of senior Zak Irvin, who has really struggled with only 13 points total in the last Four Games. But he kept them close with Derrick Walton scoring 15. The more surprising thing was that freshman DJ Wilson didn’t even Scorein 30 minutes and only took Four shots. Wisconsin didn’t do many things well in that first Game, from going 6-of-16 from deep and only 14-of-24 from the free-throw line. This one should be close, as long as Michigan doesn’t have one of those days when it hits every shot.

After getting gashed by Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh last Game, Wisconsin will need to find a way to stop Walton from taking over for Michigan. Walton has been one of the best players in the Conference in the last couple weeks and has at least 20 points in five-straight Games. No one has been able to contain the senior and Wisconsin may have that same issue whether it’s Bronson Koenig or Zak Showalter trying to stop him. But if Irvin continues to struggle, Michigan will need to continue getting production from guys like Duncan Robinson and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. Of course, that’s in addition to DJ Wilson and Moritz Wagner. Wilson and Moritz Wagner both had trouble dealing with Ethan Happ and Nigel Hayes in that first Game, so if that’s an issue again, pulling away may be too difficult for the Wolverines.

On the other end, Wisconsin just needs Koenig to step up after scoring only two points in the Northwestern loss. Happ will get his usual baskets, but will Hayes and Koenig show up on the road? The Badgers may have the best record in the conference, but have looked far from dominant, as highlighted by three road overtime wins against Minnesota, Rutgers and Nebraska. If Wisconsin doesn’t get good Games from its best players, something Michigan is getting, this could be another loss for the Badgers.

Our pick – Michigan by 2

Duke FSU CBB

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Duke

vs.

Florida State

ACC

College Basketball Pick

1/10/16

Duke was anointed the best team in the country before the season began, but a lot of questions have popped up since then. For starters, the Blue Devils got dominated at Virginia Tech in their ACC opener and now get an equally good Florida State team in their second Conference road test. And the Seminoles are not a team to take easy rolling on an 11-Game winning streak. Before ACC play, none of those wins were that impressive, but FSU is 2-0 in the ACC with a road win at Virginia and most recently a 15-point win against the Hokies.

The biggest question for Duke will be the status of big man Amile Jefferson, who picked up a foot injury in their win on Saturday. This was written before tests came back, but it’s hard to see him playing as it’s the same foot he injured a year ago. Averaging a double-double on the season, Jefferson is a key cog in the middle of the floor and gives Duke experience in the paint, something needed on the road in Tallahassee.

These teams met only once last season with Duke winning easily at home by 15 points, but this is a much different situation. To make matters tougher, Duke didn’t look all that great in Saturday’s 93-82 win over Boston College, Jeff Capel’s debut as acting coach for Coach K. The Eagles are arguably the worst team in the Conference and that showing wasn’t all too impressive.

Duke may have the freshmen and better team when the season is over, but this is one of the more balanced teams that Florida State has had in a while. Led by Dwayne Bacon (18.1 ppg), a likely NBA talent, the ‘Noles excel because of depth and length. If Jefferson can’t go, Jonathan Isaac (12.2 ppg, 7.3 reb) could be the difference in this Game because rebounding is an issue for the Blue Devils. That was seen against Boston College when Jefferson only played 13 minutes and Duke was outrebounded by nine against an inferior team.

Of course, even with the injury to Jefferson and FSU’s recent success, this is still a loaded Duke team. LUke Kennard started the season on fire, but that has slowed down a bit as the three injured freshmen are getting acclimated into the lineup. Kennard has 25 points total in the last two Games, while averaging 21 on the season. Jayson Tatum (16.3 ppg, 7.3 reb) has moved seamlessly into the lineup unlike Harry Giles and Marques Bolden. But again, if Jefferson misses out, all of those guys will be forced to play more minutes, especially Bolden, who is averaging just over seven minutes per Game.

Playing at home, the length of Florida State could be an issue for Duke and with how inconsistent the Blue Devils have looked lately, that definitely won’t help. Duke has the talent, but this is a Game the Seminoles have a shot to win and that would help greatly with three more ranked teams on the Schedule after this one.

Our Pick – Duke by 3

Kansas WVA CBB

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Kansas

West Virginia

College Basketball Pick

1/24/17

One week ago, this was looking like Kansas’s first lost of the Conference season, but now, not so much. West Virginia, once a top-10 team, has lost back-to-back Games against unranked teams, the first coming against Oklahoma, which has a losing record. The Jayhawks haven’t looked unstoppable, but in usual fashion, have dealt with anything thrown at them leading to a 7-0 Big 12 record.

Kansas was challenged at TCU and against Kansas State early on, but prevailed in both. Last week they traveled to Iowa State and led for most of the way, a place the Jayhawks had lost in the last two trips. While West Virginia has looked great in home wins over teams like TCU and Baylor, the loss in Morgantown to the Sooners is a bit worrisome.

Teams are figuring out that if you can beat WVU’s press, then they aren’t all that good. The Mountaineers lack a true presence in the paint and that’s been a problem the last couple Games as both opponents had an obvious strategy of attacking down low. Despite averaging almost 85 points between the two, Oklahoma and K State combined for just 10 made threes in their wins. It’s obvious that teams are taking advantage of the likes of Nathan Adrian and Esa Ahmad as WVU’s top big men.

The question will be if Kansas can capitalize on that through either LAnden LUcas or Carlton Bragg, neither of whom are known for offensive Games. Kansas lost this Game last year because of 22 turnovers, despite having mostly the same solid backcOurt. If the Jayhawks turn it over that many times again, they’ll likely come out on the losing side, there’s no way around it. So while LUcas and Bragg may play bigger roles, this still depends largely on one of the best backcOurts in the country with the trio of Frank Mason, Devonte Graham and Josh Jackson.

Mason and Graham provide the experience, but Mason still turns it over more than two times per Game and Jackson has turned it over 10 times in the last two Games. The Mountaineers beat teams by forcing turnovers with those leading to easy buckets. If that doesn’t work, trouble usually ensues.

West Virginia has a solid backcOurt as well, but nowhere near as lethal as Kansas’s. Jevon Carter, Daxter Miles and Tarik Phillip can all Scoreand go off in any Game, but those three have simply not been enough against better teams. To find some kind of edge against the Jayhawks, WVU will need Adrian to repeat his 22-point performance he had against Baylor or Ahmad to Scoremore than the 21 points he’s scored in the last Four Games.

There isn’t much of a size discrepancy in this Game, which means this one should move up-and-down with plenty of points expected. West Virginia is on a bit of a cold run, but if they can get up for this Game similar to that Baylor beat down, this could lead to another win over the Jayhawks. However, given the above info, if home-cOurt advantage isn’t enough, then the KU backcOurt could win this Game by itself.

Our Pick – Kansas 86 WVA 84

ND Lou CBB

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Notre Dame

Louisville

College Basketball

Pick

3/4/17

These teams may not have to worry about being on the bubble, but both still can make plenty of noise to better their seed. Louisville is still in contention for a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament with a win here and a deep run in the ACC Tourney. Notre Dame may not be aiming for the same thing, but could lock up a 4-seed with a season sweep of the Cardinals and closing the regular season on a seven-Game winning streak is never a bad thing.

When these teams met in early January, Louisville took a 2-0 lead, but Notre Dame hit a three a never looked back in a 77-70 win. The Fighting Irish played smart basketball and got 64 of their points from Matt Farrell, Steven Vasturia and Bonzie Colson. The Cardinals struggled from long range going just 7-of-27 and that was the main difference despite having eight steals and 14 offensive rebounds. Winning on the road is another story, but Notre Dame has been one of the better road teams in the conference, beating the likes of Miami and Virginia Tech, while also taking Florida State down to the wire. But none of those places are the KFC Yum! Center where Louisville has lost just once this season, all the way back in December, its Conference opener against Virginia. The Cardinals have put together some blowouts, but more importantly beat teams like Kentucky and Duke at home. To go with that, it’ll be the last home Game of the season and while Louisville isn’t filled with seniors (Mangok Mathiang), it’ll still have plenty of relevance.

The problem for Louisville in the first meeting was that it couldn’t use Mathiang and Jaylen Johnson as much as Rick Pitino would’ve liked as it’s almost impossible to guard Notre Dame’s small ball lineup with those two both playing. Colson finished with 18 points for the Irish, but he was the main instigator, bringing his defenders outside of the paint, which led to open lanes for Farrell and Vasutria. That said, Louisville’s pressure got to Farrell and Vasturia late and brought the Cardinals all the way back to one point down before they had to start fouling. Playing on the road, that pressure is going to be a huge issue for Farrell and Vasturia.

To win a Game like this, Notre Dame is going to need one of VJ Beachem’s better Games, similar to the 27 points he scored at NC State a week ago. Expecting to beat Louisville again with only three players isn’t the route to take as others will need to step up. As for the Cardinals, things should go a bit better for them offensively than the first meeting when Donovan Mitchell and Quentin Snider had trouble with their shot. To go with that, it’s hard to see the Louisville bigs struggling as much again, with Anas Mahmoud and Ray Spalding in addition to Johnson and Mathiang. While it’s not a great matchup for them defensively, one of them will see a lot of Beachem and he’s probably Notre Dame’s worst defender. If Louisville can exploit that matchup this time around, that’ll be the difference.

The Fighting Irish are playing great, but winning road Games at Boston College and NC State can’t be compared to Louisville. The Cardinals have their eyes on some postseason wins and will look to close the regular season out at home on a good note.

Our Pick – Louisville -8

Tennessee Kentucky CBB

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Tennessee

Kentucky

College Basketball Pick

2/14/17

It’s time for a little revenge for Kentucky after falling to this Tennessee team only a couple weeks ago 82-80. The Wildcats never really had a hold on that first Game as the Volunteers led for most of the way. The first issue was UK going 6-of-24 from three and having 14 turnovers, and the other was stopping the Vols from getting easy baskets in the paint. Robert Hubbs, Grant Williams and Admiral SChofield combined for 53 points with all but three of those points coming from inside the arc and at the free-throw line.

since that loss, Kentucky went on to lose a couple more and haven’t really figured things out since. In their last couple home Games, they needed overtime to beat Georgia and gave up 85 points to lowly LSU, although that Game was never too close. UK’s defense has really struggled, leaving room for opponents to stay tight in just about every Game, no matter the quality.

That should be the case in this Game, even though the Vols have taken a step back in recent Games too. They fell at Mississippi State a week ago and couldn’t top Georgia this past weekend in a 76-75 home loss. Tennessee has played inconsistently for most of the season, which explains why it sits with 11 losses heading into this Game. To reach the NCAA Tournament, the Vols will need to figure things out heading into the SEC Tourney.

Kentucky didn’t have a bad offensive Game in that first meeting, it just wasn’t that efficient, starting with Malik Monk, who was only 3-of-13 from three-point range. His numbers are often better at home, but Monk, Edrice Adebayo and De’Aaron Fox all combined for 63 points, so it’s not like there’s much more this team can do offensively. Even Isaiah Briscoe finished with 11 points, 14 boards and led the team with five assists. The biggest thing will be to play better defense, something this team has struggled to do all season.

Tennessee doesn’t have that efficient of an offense, near the end of the Conference in both three-point and two-point percentage. The only thing the Vols really do well is not turning the ball over. But will they have that same success inside the arc in this Game on the road? The most interesting part to that number is that Tennessee has one of the smaller teams in the nation with 6-5 Grant Williams and 6-7 Lew Evans getting most of the time down low last Game as 6-10 Kyle Alexander barely played.

If the Wildcats don’t play better defensively, this should be another frustratingly close Game for the Cats. They haven’t been able to pull away in any of their recent Games since that first Tennessee loss. Maybe Monk will have more success, at least efficiently, but Adebayo can’t do any better than the 21 points he scored in the first Game. The winning margin will all depend on what Kentucky’s defense does. If it continues its struggles, then the Vols can keep the Scoreclose through the same players as last Game: Hubbs and Williams.

Our Pick – Kentucky by 15

FSU Duke CBB

Bettors World — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:12:00 +0000

Florida State

Duke

College Basketball

Pick

2/28/17

The ACC regular season title may be out of reach for these teams, but there’s still plenty to play for with both aiming for at least a 4-seed come Selection Sunday. Florida State has had its issues on the road this season and will get another test at Cameron Indoor on Tuesday. The Seminoles escaped with a win at Clemson on Saturday, but prior to that, were handled at Notre Dame and Pittsburgh and this one against Duke is arguably tougher than those two.

But the Blue Devils still have their issues as seen in close wins against Clemson and Wake Forest in their last two home Games. To go with that, Grayson Allen missed Saturday’s loss at Miami due to a bad ankle. It’s a wonder if Allen will sit again in order to get him completely healthy for the postseason. For Duke’s senior night (seniors are Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones), revenge will also be on the mind after getting dominated in Tallahassee 88-72 at the beginning of January.

That loss was at the beginning of Duke’s struggles, implementing key freshmen back into the lineup and losing Coach K a few days beforehand. The Game was close and high scoring in the first half, but Duke couldn’t keep up as Florida State closed the final 10 minutes on a 30-18 run. Of course, Amile Jefferson didn’t play in that Game, which meant Chase Jeter was forced into 25 minutes and he doesn’t even see the floor when everyone on the team is healthy. The presence of Jefferson means that Florida State won’t be able to dominate in the paint as it did last Game. Michael Ojo and Jarquez Smith combined for 17 points and neither of them average more than 5.2 per Game.

The addition of Jefferson will keep things more even in that department, but also the improvement of Jayson Tatum over the last month is extremely relevant. Tatum will likely be matched up with Jonathan Isaac, both of whom are expected lottery picks in the upcoming NBA draft, so plenty of eyes will be on them. Isaac has the size and length, but Tatum has the quickness advantage so that’ll be fun to watch play out. But how this Game goes will depend on what FSU’s backcOurt can do on the road.

Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes can be excellent at times, but Rathan-Mayes is as inconsistent as they come. He had 21 points in that first Game (second-highest total of season), but it’s important to note he had added motivation as he was one of the first players Grayson Allen tripped. If that same Rathan-Mayes shows up, the Seminoles will keep this Game close. If not, everything will come down to what Bacon does and how well Jefferson deals with FSU’s bigs in the paint.

If Allen doesn’t play, that would obviously be a factor as well, but LUke Kennard has shown he can do whatever it takes for Duke to win, especially when given the opportunity. Without Allen on the cOurt, he’s given that opportunity. Still, it’s hard to look past the recent loss to Miami in which both Tatum and Kennard struggled to make shots. When that happens, this team can lose to anyone in the ACC. Jefferson could make the difference for the Blue Devils in the rematch and while Allen may not play, it really depends on what Florida State team shows up. The ‘Noles can be great, but rarely have shown that away from home this season.

Our Pick – Note – Our model has Duke by about 7 here, however, the Game is off the board as of Tuesday morning due to injuries on the Duke side.