Duke On a Roll Entering ACC Final Against Notre Dame
The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament final will be played at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday when the No. 14 ranked Duke Blue Devils play the No. 16 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The current line has not yet been released but check here for the latest line right up to game time.
Entering this game, Duke has an overall record this season of 26-8 straight up and 14-18 against the spread. Duke is 7-3 SU and 4-5 ATS in its past 10 games played. Notre Dame on the season is 25-8 SU and 18-8 ATS. In its past 10 games played, Notre Dame is 8-2 SU and ATS.
No. 5 seed Duke looks to become the first team in ACC history to win four games in a period of four days, during tournament play. Duke punched its ticket to the ACC title game by defeating No. 1 seed North Carolina on Friday 93-83. Duke’s coach Mike Krzyzewski said his players played with great courage.
Notre Dame, the No. 3 seed, held off a stubborn Florida State team to win 77-73 in its semifinal. This is Notre Dame’s second trip to the ACC final in the past three seasons. The past two seasons, Notre Dame has eliminated Duke during the ACC season ending tournament.
The Fighting Irish are 6-2 in their short tournament history playing in the ACC, which includes the 2015 title.
The only time these two teams met this season in conference play, Duke defeated Notre Dame 84-74 back on January 30.
Grayson Allen has scored 18 points in each of the past two Duke games, during the tournament. Luke Kennard is leading the team in scoring with an average of 20.2 points per game and has averaged 21.3 per game during the tournament.
Duke Freshman Jayson Tatum has averaged 23 points per game in his past three games, while Frank Jackson another freshman is averaging 16 points per game over his past 6 games.
Bonzie Colson has averaged 19.5 points per game during the first two contests in the tournament for Notre Dame. He leads the team in scoring during the season at 17.1 per game. Colson leads the team and the ACC in rebounding as well at 10.2 per game.
Matt Farrell, V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia are all averaging 13 points or more per game for the Irish.
Notre Dame is 8-1 SU in its past 9 games overall.
Duke is 3-0-1 ATS in its past 4 games versus ACC opponents.
Prediction: Duke defeated Notre Dame during the regular season and is on a hot run during the tournament. Lean here toward the Blue Devils.
