With football in the rearview mirror, college basketball now takes center stage for many sports fans and bettors.
While some are just catching up, others have been watching and wagering on college hoops since the first week of November. For those just tuning in, the big story so far this season is that this freshman class can be described as being once in a generation.
Darryn Peterson of Kansas, AJ Dybantsa of BYU and Cameron Boozer of Duke are just three players in what is a deep and absolutely loaded group. The high level of talent in college basketball has teams in the NBA resting their best players, prioritizing increased odds of getting a better pick come draft time in June.
With about one month until selection Sunday and a fun slate of games on tap for this weekend, let’s look at one game and find a best bet.
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No. 20 Clemson @ No. 4 Duke
I’ll take Clemson here getting double-digits.
The Tigers are coming off of an upset loss on Wednesday night at home to Virginia Tech, but that defeat can be forgiven.
Prior to that game, Clemson spent last week on the West Coast, with road games against Cal and Stanford. Factor in jet lag — as well as having a big game on deck against Duke — and it’s understandable that Clemson was flat on Wednesday.
The Tigers have the 16th-ranked defense in the nation, according to KenPom rankings, and they are one of the slowest paced teams in the country (325th). For Duke, the Blue Devils are once again an elite team and a legitimate threat to cut down the nets in April.
However, 6-foot-11 sophomore Patrick Ngongba II missed the last game with a wrist injury and might miss Saturday’s game against Clemson as well. Ngongba is scoring 10.7 points per game on 61% shooting and is a presence around the rim defensively.
On the glass, he averages 6.2 rebounds.
With their outstanding defense and slow-paced style, the Tigers should be able to hang around and keep this game within the 12.5.
PICK: Clemson (+12.5) to lose by fewer than 12.5 points or win outright
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