College Basketball Odds: Duke Pegged As Road Favorites Vs. Syracuse
A pair of Atlantic Coast Conference rivals will be looking to cap a week of adversity on winning notes when the Duke Blue Devils visit the Syracuse Orange on Saturday as 4.5-point favorites on the college basketball odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Duke will be looking to rebound after seeing star forward Zion Williamson suffer a knee injury in Wednesday’s 88-72 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Blue Devils will be without their superstar forward indefinitely going into Saturday night’s matchup at the Carrier Dome.
Considered an overwhelming favorite to be selected first overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, Williamson has played a crucial role in the Blue Devils’ ascension to the top of the AP Top 25. Duke will sorely miss the 18-year-old freshman’s 21.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
The Orange meanwhile will be rallying around head coach Jim Boeheim, who is expected to be on the floor Saturday despite being involved in an accident earlier this week that took the life of a pedestrian on a local highway.
Syracuse has picked up straight-up wins in just four of its last seven outings but hase posted SU wins in four of five on home court, according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database, and topped the Blue Devils 78-75 as 3-point underdogs in their last home meeting two years ago.
Elsewhere on the college basketball odds for Saturday, No. 8 North Carolina vies for a third straight outright victory as the team returns home to face the red-hot Florida State Seminoles as 6.5-point betting favorites.
After struggling at times during early-season non-conference play, the Tar Heels have rounded into form against conference opponents, and currently join Duke and the Virginia Cavaliers with a conference-leading 11-2 SU record. However, UNC will have its hands full against No. 16 Florida State, which has marched to SU wins in eight straight, including outright victories over Syracuse and Clemson as road underdogs at sports betting sites.
As well, No. 3 Virginia will be looking to seize control of top spot in the ACC standings with a fourth straight SU win as they visit the struggling Louisville Cardinals as 6.5-point chalk, while No. 20 Virginia Tech travels to Notre Dame aiming to reward bettors for the first time in six outings as 3.5-point betting favorites.
