One team was expected to be in the regional final, and the other will look to play spoiler again with the West’s Final Four bid on the line at 8:49 p.m. ET Saturday in San Francisco. It’s fourth-seeded Arkansas and second-seeded Duke in what could be legendary Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game.
Narrow wins over Vermont and New Mexico State had many thinking No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga would cover a lofty 9.5-point spread in the regional opener, but the Hogs (28-8) claimed that to become the final Southeastern Conference team standings.
Duke (31-6) keeps Coach K’s career alive with a complete game, scoring 78 points against defensive-minded Texas Tech for a five-point win after originally opening as underdogs. Prior to that was an opening-round win over Cal State Fullerton and a second-round triumph over Michigan State.
The line opened at Duke -4 with an over/under of 146.5. The over/under has since moved to 147.5 as of this writing.
Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview: Come out confident
Texas Tech controlled the first half against Duke because they got off to an early start. Duke looked lackluster and almost as if the moment was too big. But in the second half, they played with confidence and snatched the game from the Red Raiders.
They have the ninth-best offense in the country, scoring 80.4 points per game, and are efficient doing so. They are 13th in field goal percentage, converting 48.9% of attempts and 37.7% on 3-pointers for the 24th-best mark in the country.
Paolo Banchero figures to be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, and it’s easy to see why. The 6-foot-10 wing is averaging 17.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game and is converting 36.8% of 3-point attempts.
Arkansas Razorbacks Betting Preview: Run and gun
The Runnin’ Razorbacks thrive when they’re getting to the free-throw line. They shoot 74.9% from the charity stripe, ranking 70th in the country.
It’s helped them to 40th in the country in scoring at 77.3 points per game. Defensively they surrender points but hold teams to 40.9% shooting, which is 47th nationally.
JD Notae is as shifty a guard as there is, and he’s averaging 16.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 steals per game in five postseason contests. Then 6-10 forward Jaylin Williams is only at 9.6 points per game but is leading the team at 11.4 rebounds per contest.
Betting Prediction
Arkansas is 21-14-1 against the spread and 21-15 on over/unders this season. The Hogs are 2-3 against the spread in the postseason and 3-2 on over/unders. Duke is 19-16-2 against the spread and 21-15-1 on over/unders this season.
While 5-1 in the postseason, the Blue Devils are 2-4 against the spread and 5-1 on over/unders, including winning their last two against the spread.
Arkansas very well could win this game outright, so we’ll pick them to cover four points, too.
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