Spartans vs. Blue Devils Prediction
The top-seeded Duke Blue Devils have held on for dear life their last two NCAA Tournament games. Will Duke put together a more complete performance today when it is a small favorite versus the Michigan State Spartans in the Elite Eight?
Game Snapshot
691 Michigan State Spartans vs. 692 Duke Blue Devils
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Capital One Arena at 5:05PM ET
TV: CBS
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Blue Devils are a 2-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 150.5 points. As of Sunday morning, 51 percent of public bets are being placed on Michigan State. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest information.
Spartans dominate Tigers
Michigan State rolled to an 80-63 victory Friday night over Louisiana State in the Sweet 16 to improve to 31-6 on the season and advance to the Elite Eight. The Spartans led 40-28 at halftime en route to the triumph. Michigan State shot 31-of-66 from the floor, 13-of-32 from 3-point range plus 5-of-8 at the free throw line. Aaron Henry paced the Spartans with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. He also notched eight rebounds and six assists. Cassius Winston accounted for 17 points and eight dimes. Gabe Brown tallied a career-best 15 points plus three boards off the bench. Xavier Tillman registered 12 points, eight caroms, three assists and two blocked shots.
Blue Devils edge Hokies
Duke saw Virginia Tech narrowly miss at the buzzer Friday night to win 75-73 in the Sweet 16 and advance to the Elite Eight with a 32-5 record. The Blue Devils outscored the Hokies 41-35 at halftime after trailing by four at halftime. Duke shot 31-of-56 from the field, 6-of-20 from 3-point distance plus 7-of-10 at the free throw line. Zion Williamson paced the Blue Devils with 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting including 1-of-2 from 3-point range. He also notched six rebounds and three blocked shots. Tre Jones tallied 22 points, eight assists and four boards. R.J. Barrett added 18 points, 11 assists and four rebounds. Duke guard Cam Reddish was a late scratch from the lineup with a knee injury and will be a game-time decision for Sunday’s contest.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Michigan State
The Spartans are 4-1 ATS in their last five Sunday games. Michigan State is 25-9 ATS in its last 34 games overall.
Duke
The Blue Devils are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games versus the Big Ten. Duke is 4-1 ATS in its last five games versus MSU.
Prediction:
Are we at the point where we can call Duke underwhelming? There were a number of people who said Duke would roll through this tournament and while the Blue Devils have advanced through their first three games, the last two went right down to the wire with lucky rolls favoring Duke in both. The Blue Devils have easily the best player in college basketball in Williamson, while Barrett can be a dynamo player when he is on his game and also not trying to overshadow Williamson. Michigan State has been the more efficient offensive team this season by a small margin, while its defense is only a pinch behind Duke in terms of efficiency. The Spartans haven’t been tested in their last two tournament games and with the confidence they are playing with, I think that continues with a small upset over Duke.
NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS ML +123