#1 Duke vs. Ohio State | NCAAB Analysis & Predictions

The marquee game of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in college basketball on Tuesday features new No. 1 Duke visiting Ohio State. The Blue Devils are short road favorites on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet Duke at Ohio State NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

• When: Tuesday, 9:30 PM ET
• Where: Value City Arena
• TV: ESPN
• Stream: WatchESPN
• Radio: Tunein.com
• Opening NCAAB Lines: Duke -3 (total 147.5)

Series History

This will be the fourth meeting between Ohio State and Duke in the Big Ten/ACC Men’s Basketball Challenge. Duke won the first meeting in 2002 in Greensboro, N.C., and then teams split the meetings in 2011 and 2012, with each team winning on its home court. Duke leads the all-time series over Ohio State, 4-3. Each of three meetings in the Mike Krzyzewski era have come in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Why Bet on Duke?

Duke (7-0) upset No. 1 Gonzaga last Friday, 84-81. Paolo Banchero scored 21 points, Wendell Moore Jr. scored 20 points and Mark Williams added 17 points and 9 rebounds for the Blue Devils. Duke had two 20-point scorers in a game vs. AP No. 1 for the first time since Dec. 5, 1992 vs. Michigan when Thomas Hill had 21 and Bobby Hurley had 20.

Duke committed just eight turnovers, posted 11 steals and forced Gonzaga into 17 turnovers. Duke owned a 23-2 edge in points-off-turnover scoring. Through seven games this season, Duke is +92 in points-off-turnover scoring (137-45). Duke has now connected on at least one three-point field goal in 1,121 consecutive games – the nation’s second longest active streak.

Duke has now won five of its last eight and six of its last 10 versus No. 1 — all under Mike Krzyzewski.  Coach K’s seven wins over AP No. 1 teams lead all active coaches and are second most in ACC history – Roy Williams (8) and Gary Williams (7). Duke is now 10-21 all-time versus the AP No. 1 team, tied for the third most wins by any program.

That win allowed Duke to jump to No. 1 in the new polls. Duke’s 145 weeks in the No. 1 spot are the most in NCAA history, leading UCLA (134) and Kentucky (125). All other ACC schools have combined for a total of 149 weeks at No. 1.

Under Krzyzewski, Duke has been ranked No. 1 at least once in 21 different seasons, the most of any coach in college basketball history. John Wooden and Roy Williams are tied for second (12). This marks Coach K’s 127th week ranked No. 1 at Duke, which also continues an NCAA record over Wooden (121) and Adolph Rupp (61).

This week’s ACC Player of the Week, Moore Jr., is the only power conference player averaging 17.0+ points, 6.0+ rebounds, 5.0+ assists and shooting .500+ from the field (17.9/6.3/5.7/.578). Moore has one of the three triple-doubles in the nation this season and has scored 20+ points in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. Banchero is the nation’s leading true freshman scorer at 18.3 points.

The Blue Devils have won 19 of the 22 games in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge since the event began more than two decades ago, marking the most wins and best winning percentage of teams from either conference.

Why Bet on Ohio State?

The Buckeyes are a bit short-handed as Justice Sueing (abdominal) is “weeks away” from returning, per coach Chris Holtmann. Seth Towns (back) is expected to return in mid-to-late December. Eugene Brown (concussion) is day-to-day.

Ohio State (4-2) played last Wednesday and lost at Florida 71-68 as the Gators hit a three-pointer at the buzzer. E.J. Liddell led the Buckeyes in scoring with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He was also 8-of-12 from the free throw line and blocked five shots. Kyle Young played just 14 minutes before fouling-out but was impactful in those 14 minutes. He scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. The Buckeyes committed a season-high 18 turnovers and were whistled for a season-high 24 fouls in the game.

Liddell has led the team in scoring in all six games and is averaging 22.5 points per game, which is second in the Big Ten through the first three weeks. He also has a Big Ten-leading 23 blocks and has blocked multiple shots in five of the six games. Liddell averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks at the Fort Myers Tip-off and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Young is second on the team in scoring at 9.6 per game and tops the team at 6.4 rebounds per contest. Senior captain Justin Ahrens has two or more three-pointers in five of the six games and is shooting nearly 50 percent from beyond the arc. The Buckeyes are averaging 8.3 makes from distance per game which is fourth in the conference.

This will be Ohio State’s 20th appearance in the Challenge, which began in 1999. They Buckeyes 8-11 all-time and have won their matchup each of the last two seasons. Ohio State is 9-11 all-time vs. a No. 1 ranked team and has won seven of the last 10 meetings with the top-ranked team in the country.

Game Trends

• Blue Devils are 5-2-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall.
• Blue Devils are 5-11 ATS in their last 16 road games.
• Blue Devils are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 Tuesday games.
• Buckeyes are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up loss.
• Buckeyes are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 Tuesday games.
• Buckeyes are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 home games.

Expert Prediction

• Duke 79, Ohio State 73

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