Best Notre Dame vs. Duke Betting Picks for Wednesday, Feb. 7 (High-Scoring Streak Continues)
By Jovan Alford
After suffering a disappointing loss to North Carolina last weekend, the No. 9-ranked Duke Blue Devils will return to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday night to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
These two teams played each other earlier in the season, where the Blue Devils won 67-59 behind 23 points and 14 rebounds from sophomore forward Mark Mitchell.
To no one’s surprise, Duke is 10-2 at home this season and has won three out of their last four conference games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils only two losses at home this season have come against Pittsburgh and Arizona.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish have struggled in ACC play this year (2-7) and on the road (1-6). Notre Dame enters Wednesday night’s matchup on a six-game losing streak, which includes three straight road losses. The last time the Fighting Irish won a game away from South Bend was on Jan. 9 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (75-68).
The Blue Devils will try not to take the Fighting Irish lightly, as they saw the Tar Heels get upset by the Clemson Tigers on Tuesday night. Below, we’ll break down this ACC contest and provide our prediction using odds from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Notre Dame vs. Duke Odds, Spread and Total
Notre Dame vs. Duke Betting Pick and Prediction
In their first matchup last month in South Bend, Duke didn’t have one of their best offensive performances, as they shot 35.6% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc and lost the rebounding battle (42-40).
However, the Fighting Irish’s offense wasn’t any better than the Blue Devils. Duke held Notre Dame to 39% shooting from the field and a ridiculous 26.3% from three-point range. On the season, the Fighting Irish are shooting 30.3% from beyond the arc (worst in the ACC).
The Blue Devils would love to see similar shooting percentages from the Fighting Irish, who are averaging 58.1 points and getting outscored by 8.3 points per game during their six-game losing streak.
However, Notre Dame is one of the best defensive teams in the conference (65.5 ppg allowed this season, second-fewest in the ACC), which could help them keep Wednesday night’s game close to start.
At the same time, Duke is ranked second in scoring (80.7 ppg) and first in three-point shooting (38.1%), which is something they should be able to exploit. The Blue Devils are shooting 41.2% from deep at home this season and have an effective field goal percentage of 58.2.
Duke star big man Kyle Filipowski didn’t play his best in the first matchup against Notre Dame (7 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists). However, I don’t expect him to have an issue tonight, as he’s dropped 22 and 14 points, respectively, in consecutive games against Virginia Tech and UNC.
Many bettors are likely scared to lay double-digit points against a Notre Dame team that hasn’t given up in their last few games.
Also, Duke is 0-4 ATS in conference play when favored by 10 or more points. Therefore, I’ll take a shot on the OVER on the total, which is 9-3 at home for the Blue Devils and 6-2 when the total is between 132-145.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change