North Carolina State Wolfpack at Duke Blue Devils 2011 NCAA Basketball Preview, Odds, and Predictions: Forward C.J. Leslie will lead the North Carolina State WolfPack on the road to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on guard Nolan Smith and the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils on Saturday at 6:00 PM ET on ESPN. The Wolfpack enter the game on a 3 game skid at (12-10, 2-6) while Duke has won one and comes in at (20-2, 7-1) good enough for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Blue Devils have beaten NC State 10 straight times at home and will be looking to make it 11 this evening.
“We have to be more consistent,” coach Sidney Lowe said. “We haven’t put together two halves, offensively and defensively, in a long time. It’s been at least five or six games where we have had four or five guys play well.” After losing for just the 3rd time in 40 games Duke rebounded with a road win. “This shows a lot of character,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “To come on the road three days later and win like this is really a huge thing for our kids.” The odds makers at BetUS have the Duke Blue Devils a -19 point favorite at home against the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
The Duck Blue Devils are coming off a road victory 80-62 over the Maryland Terrapins to move to 10-10 ATS for the season. Forward Kyle Singler led Duke with 22 points and 6 rebounds while guard Nolan Smith chipped in 21 points 6 boards and 3 assists in the victory. Forward-Center Mason Plumlee added 12 points as well as 11 rebounds to round out the starters with a double-double. Duke is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home but is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home and the total has gone OVER in 4 of Duke’s last 6 games at home. Vegas odds makers have the Duke Blue Devils +325 to win the 2011 NCAA Championship.
The Wolfpack’s most recent outing resulted in a 77-69 loss to Virginia Tech at home moving them to 7-10 ATS for the season. Forwards Scott Wood and Tracy Smith led the way with 11 points apiece to lead the Terrapins in scoring. North Carolina State is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Duke and the total has gone OVER in 4 of North Carolina State’s last 5 games when playing on the road against Duke. Vegas odds makers have the over/under for the total score at 152 points combined of the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina State Wolfpack.
I predict a Duke win at home and OVER!
Note: Rich Fritz is a Blog Writer on NSAwins.com and not a pro handicapper. For expert NFL Football Predictions against the Vegas spreads please visit the NSAwins.com homepage for top predictions today from the National Sports Advisors.