Duke at Maryland 2012 College Basketball Predictions: After suffering their first Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball loss last Saturday (Jan 21), the No. 8 Duke Blue Devils (16-3) look to rebound on the road when they travel to College Park, Md., Wednesday night to play the Maryland Terrapins 12-6 in Comcast Center. Likewise, the Terps return home after dropping back to back road games at Florida State and Temple. ESPN will televise the game with tip-off set for a 9:00 pm ET.
Odds makers for offshore sportsbook TopBet.com list the Blue Devils as 11-point favorites with a combined score total (over/under) of 149 1/2. Terps’ backers are getting +500 College Basketball Odds on the offshore moneyline while the price of wagering Duke to win SU is -700 ($700 wager to win $100).
Maryland puts an eight-game home winning streak on the line in a battle with 6th-ranked Duke at Comcast Center. The Terrapins are tied for fifth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 2-2 record, having won both games at home and lost both games on the road. The Blue Devils are ranked sixth in the coaches’ poll, eighth in the AP poll and are in a three-way tie with NC State and Florida State atop the league with a 4-1 mark. Both the Wolfpack and Seminoles have beaten the Terps this season.
Duke currently owns a three game winning streak against the Terps, losing in three meetings last season, two regular season and once in the ACC tournament. Duke has also won nine of the last 10 in the series, the lone exception, a 72-79 loss in 2010.
The Blue Devils are coming off their first conference loss, a 76-73 home defeat to Florida State that snapped a 45-game home winning streak.
Freshman Austin Rivers earned his fourth ACC Rookie of the Week honor last week and leads the team in scoring at 14.4 ppg… Rivers is one of three Blue Devils shooting at least 40 percent from 3-point range – Rivers is hitting at a .400 mark, junior guard Andre Dawkins is shooting .419 and junior forward Ryan Kelly is shooting .460.
Game Day prediction: We have two side coming off losses looking to bounce back in this game. Duke is the better team but giving -11 on the road is a stretch. I’ll play the odds that Maryland covers. My Pick – Maryland +11.
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