Chairman on Duke
This should be a fun contest in the East Region on Thursday night, but I have no interest in stepping in front of this fully-healthy Duke train. The Blue Devils have been on an absolute heater this season, going 33-3 SU with a nation’s best +21.5 average margin of victory. They’ve also been a profitable 24-12-0 ATS, which is quite impressive considering they’re a public team and always trying to cover against large numbers. On the flip side, it’s simply the inconsistency of Caleb Love and this Arizona team. Love can either go off for a ton of points, or turn in a stinker. Being that he’s facing a top-five Duke defense, I don’t expect this team to keep pace. Duke boasts the nation’s best offense in terms of adjusted offensive efficiency (129.2). The Blue Devils are also third in effective field goal percentage (57.9%) and 17th in three-point shooting (38.1%). I’ll take the red-hot Blue Devils to win by double digits. Star freshman Cooper Flagg has been the battery of this team all season. After missing a couple of games (ankle) in the ACC tournament, he’s back and fully healthy. He leads the way in scoring (18.7 PPG), rebounding (7.5 RPG), assists (4.2 APG), steals (1.4 SPG), and blocks (1.3 BPG).