One of the sports’ greatest rivalries takes place in this year’s Final Four, and we’re in search of the winning college basketball picks for the clash between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils.
North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Duke Blue Devils
Saturday, April 02, 2022 – 08:49 PM EDT at Caesars Superdome
We probably should have seen this coming. So many previous seasons have included three meetings between North Carolina and Duke, with two matchups during the regular season and a third at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
There was every reason to believe it would happen again a few weeks ago before Virginia Tech made its improbable run to the ACC title.
While the Hokies may have wrecked a third meeting between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils earlier this month, North Carolina and Duke put in the extra work to make sure it happened in this year’s Final Four.
Join Now: $1,000 BMR 12-Week All Sports Challenge
Lending to this historic matchup is the fact Duke is now favored in the NCAA basketball future odds to win it all in Mike Krzyzewski’s final season as head coach, with North Carolina the underdog among the last quartet at the dance.
‘Over’ Cashes Last Six Meetings
As the nightcap for Saturday’s Final Four doubleheader, the Tar Heels and Blue Devils will overshadow every other bit of college hoops news this week. Action at top sportsbooks should be Super Bowl-esque, and the early numbers have Duke favored by 4½ with the total running in the 150½-151 range.
Like two heavyweights trading punches, the rivalry has been just about as level as level can be this millennium. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels split their regular-season series this year, straight up and against the spread, with each side pulling off-road wins. They have split the last eight clashes as well as the last 18, with Duke holding a 21-19 edge in the last 40 collisions.
North Carolina spoiled Krzyzewski’s regular-season finale in front of a packed crowd of crazies at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels broke from a 61-61 tie midway through the second half to post a 94-81 upset as sizable 11-point underdogs, and that victory left them with a 142-115 advantage in the rivalry.
BMR Community: NCAAB Men's Basketball Betting Forum
Duke crushed North Carolina four weeks earlier at Smith Center, registering an 87-67 wire-to-wire victory. About the only thing the two games had in common was the final NCAAB scores going past totals that were set slightly higher than this one.
UNC End Peacocks’ Remarkable Run
Hubert Davis brought his Tar Heels into March Madness as the No. 8 seed in the East Region, and that led to a very interesting path to the Final Four.
It was a rather easy 95-63 jaunt past Marquette in the opening round before tough, close battles with No. 1 seed Baylor and No. 4 UCLA. The clash with the Bears went to overtime before North Carolina prevailed.
Their lowest seed came in the East Finals when the Tar Heels faced No. 15 Saint Peter’s, the Peacocks emerging as this year’s Cinderella and the lowest seed ever to advance to the Elite Eight.
Favored by 8½ at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review), North Carolina used a 9-0 spurt to begin the game and a strong first half on the way to a 69-49 win and claim the last spot in the Final Four.
Dookies Cover Last Three Tournament Tilts
Krzyzewski’s crew also faced a No. 15 seed along the way, though that came in the opening round with the second-seeded Blue Devils beating Cal State Fullerton 78-61.
It wasn’t so easy in the second round when the Blue Devils needed a 13-4 run in the final minutes to close out an 85-76 win over No. 7 Michigan State.
Duke basically repeated that performance in a 77-73 win over No. 3 Texas Tech in the Sweet 16, this time a 12-5 surge to close the contest.
A 78-69 victory over No. 4 Arkansas in the West Region finals on Saturday sent the Blue Devils to New Orleans, with a 10-0 run in the second half proving to be the key.
These two teams have very similar numbers against the college basketball odds on the season. North Carolina is 20-16-1 ATS and 21-15-1 O/U/P in the totals column while Duke checks in 20-16-2 ATS and 21-16-1 O/U/P.
If you believe in a Hollywood script for this game, then Duke has another frantic few minutes at the end of the game to win and send Coach K to the championship on Monday.
But then, some Hollywood scripts end with the good guy losing, and that’s the way I’m going with a play on the Tar Heels plus the points and a second little wager on UNC to win it all.
NCAAB Pick: North Carolina +4½ (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
