The #1 Duke Blue Devils (7-0, 0-0 away) face their first true road test of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes (4-2, 3-0 home) Tuesday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Duke aims to keep its perfect record intact, while OSU will try and stay undefeated at home and bounce back after losing on a buzzer-beater to the Florida Gators in Fort Myers.
Tuesday’s tipoff is at 9:30 p.m. EST inside Value City Arena in Columbus, OH. Duke is a 3-point road favorite in the non-conference tilt, and the over-under total is 147.0 points.
What to Know – Duke Blue Devils
Duke tries to stay up to the task after a thrilling 84-81 victory over Gonzaga on Friday moved the Blue Devils into the top spot in the college basketball rankings. The Blue Devils have already picked up a pair of Quad 1 victories over Kentucky and the Zags.
Offensively, Duke is scoring 85.6 points per game while shooting 48.7% from the floor and 33.1% from the arc. The Blue Devils’ defense is holding opponents to 64.6 points behind 41.3% shooting and 31.7% from three.
Freshman phenom Paolo Banchero scored a game-high 21 points in Friday’s victory over Gonzaga. Junior Wendell Moore Jr. added 20 points, six rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Duke forced 17 turnovers and held Gonzaga to 28.6% shooting from the arc.
Duke is 3-1-3 against the spread this season, and the total has gone over in four of Duke’s seven games. The Blue Devils are 15-3 straight up against Big Ten opponents in recent contests.
What to Know – Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State has had nearly a week to forget about their Fort Myers Tip-Off loss after leading for much of the contest. The Buckeyes have lost two of their last three, including a six-point defeat to Xavier in Cincinnati.
Ohio State’s offense pours in 75.3 points per game while shooting 47.6% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc. Defensively, the Buckeyes surrender 69.3 points and hold teams to 39.9% shooting from the floor and 31.2% from the arc.
Junior E.J. Liddell presented a matchup nightmare for Florida, scoring 23 points and shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Senior Kyle Young came off the bench to chip in 11 points for the Buckeyes. OSU turned the ball over 18 times and shot just 26.3% from the 3-point line in the defeat.
The Buckeyes are 2-4 ATS this year and 1-2 on their home floor. The total has gone over in five of OSU’s six games played this season.
The Pick is In
Duke is on the road for the first time this year and expect OSU fans to pack Value City Arena for this one. Outside of Liddell, the Buckeyes don’t have enough playmakers offensively to match the Blue Devils.
Duke picks up their first road victory and third Quad 1 win of the season with a statement victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Betting Pick: Duke Blue Devils -3
