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Wake Forest vs Duke NCAAB Free Pick + Gambling Preview

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-7) vs #4 Duke Blue Devils (15-2)

It has been a while since Wake Forest was a team to be reckoned with in the ACC. They won their conference opener but have lost the last 2 including an embarrassing home loss to NC State by 36 points last time out.
Thursday January 19
Cameron Indoor Stadium – Durham, NC
7:00PM
Moneyline: No money line currently listed.
Spread: Duke -22.5
O/U: 147.5

Wake Forest

With the players they are trotting out these days it is getting harder and harder to remember that this is the place that players like Tim Duncan and Chris Paul used to call home. A .500 season in conference would be a major step for this program but that is unlikely the way they look right now.

Wake does have a high scoring duo in guard C.J. Harris and forward Travis McKie They both average just over 17 points per game, which is good for second and third in the conference respectively. The problem is that McKie is only 6’7” and the Deacons don’t have much of an inside presence these days. This is especially concerning against Duke which has a ton of size in addition to the kinds of guards that will make Harris work. If they can both have good game they should keep this respectable for the first half.

Duke

The media may love to criticize how this isn’t a classically good Duke team but here they sit with a top 5 ranking eyeing a #1 seed in March once again. [soliloquy id=”82219″] With North Carolina showing some warts of late it is quite possible that these Blue Devils don’t lose another game all season long. One thing to be concerned about though is that they might be looking ahead to Florida State on Saturday. The Seminoles knocked out UNC last weekend and beat Duke the last time these two teams squared off last season as well.

It is amazing that freshman players get built up so much these days that leading a team like Duke in scoring is not considered enough. That is what is happening with frosh guard Austin Rivers. He leads the Dookies with 13.8ppg but has been inconsistent and certainly doesn’t look like last year’s top recruit – Kyrie Irving – who became the top pick in the draft last June. As a result Duke has been getting by with a pretty balanced attack (4 players score between 11 and 14ppg). Rivers shows flashes from time to time and you can see why the NBA is excited but I think he has at least another year under the guidance of Coach K. Be wary of backing the Blue Devils. They have not been a profitable play at 7-10 ATS.

Spread Pick: Wake Forest +22.5
O/U Pick: Under
Score Prediction: Duke 80 – Wake Forest 65

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By The Wiesguy

The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.