College Basketball Odds: Duke, Virginia Among ACC Favorites This Weekend

The Duke Blue Devils will be trying to avoid suffering consecutive straight-up losses for the first time in over two years when they host the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday as 17-point favorites on the college basketball odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Duke has struggled since losing freshman star Zion Williamson to injury 10 days ago, coming up short in two of three outings, a run that has dumped them to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 going into Saturday afternoon’s matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils are coming off a 77-72 loss to No. 20 Virginia Tech as 3.5-point road chalk Tuesday night, and now have covered in just one of their past four overall outings, according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database. However, the squad enters the month of March still perched atop the March Madness odds as short +210 favorites.

While Duke has struggled without Williamson, No. 2 Virginia looks to solidify its position atop the ACC standings as it takes on the freefalling Pittsburgh Panthers as heavy 19-point home chalk.

The Cavaliers improved their SU conference record to 13-2 and overall record to 25-2 with a crushing 81-51 win over Georgia Tech as 18.5-point home favorites earlier this week, and have covered in four of five contests while surrendering an average of just 55.2 points per game.

Conversely, the Panthers are in desperation mode after going winless SU and against the spread in 11 straight contests. Pittsburgh is coming off a 62-48 loss to Clemson as a 4.5-point home underdog Wednesday and also rides a 22-game SU losing streak on the road including a 67-42 defeat in its last trip to Virginia in March 2017.

Elsewhere on this weekend’s odds, No. 5 North Carolina looks to keep pace with the Cavaliers as it visits Clemson as 5.5-point betting favorites. No. 18 Florida State aims for a sixth straight win on home hardwood as it battles the resurgent North Carolina State Wolfpack as 7-point favorites, while the Syracuse Orange look to halt a two-game SU slide when they open Saturday’s action at Wake Forest favored by 7.5 points.

The Tar Heels have tallied eight straight outright wins on the road but fell 82-78 as 1.5-point chalk in their last visit to Clemson in January 2018. The Orange have tumbled to sixth place in the ACC standings during a 2-4 SU run, but face a Demon Deacons squad that has failed to record consecutive SU wins in 18 outings since mid-December.