Duke vs. Notre Dame betting Line – College Basketball January 28

Carrie Stroup with a preview of a “must see” College Basketball matchup.  The Duke vs. Notre Dame betting line had the Blue Devils as a -1.5 favorite.  We have all your College Hoops lines below.

DUKE BLUE DEVILS (17-2) at NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (19-2)

Sportsbook.ag Line: Duke -1.5, Total: 148.5

No. 8 Notre Dame looks for its fifth consecutive win as they welcome No. 4 Duke to South Bend, fresh off Coach K winning his landmark 1000^th game.

This top-10 ACC matchup features the two top offenses in the conference (and two of the top 5 most efficient offenses in the nation) with No. 8 Notre Dame (81.9 PPG, 10^th in NCAA, 1.25 PP/Poss, 1^st in NCAA) facing No. 4 Duke (81.6 PPG, 12^th in NCAA, 1.21 PP/Poss, 5^th in NCAA). 

The two-game losing skid where the Blue Devils lost by 12 points at NC State and by 16 points at home to Miami seems to have faded into a distant memory. Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils picked up wins 998, 999 and 1000 in the previous 10 days with impressive double-digit victories at Louisville (63-52) on the 17^th, versus Pittsburgh (79-65) on Monday, and at MSG against St. John’s (77-68) on Sunday.

The Fighting Irish only have two close SU blemishes: losing on a neutral court to Providence in November and a six-point loss at home to Virginia. Notre Dame has struggled, however, in January, stumbling to a 1-4 ATS mark in conference play before covering their last two. These two schools played their first ever conference matchup at Purcell Pavillion last season, with 5.5-point underdog Notre Dame pulling the 79-77 upset and garnering their first ever ACC conference win. Duke has owned this series since 1980, only dropping one other contest versus the Irish prior to last season’s loss.

Notre Dame is undefeated (8-0) on 2 days rest this season, but only 2-4 ATS at home. Meanwhile, Duke is also undefeated (5-0) on 2 days rest.

After the aforementioned two-game skid, where the Duke defense was shredded for 87 and 90 points respectively, Krzyzewski made a tactical switch to a 2-3 zone defense before starting their current three-game winning streak. During that span, they’ve held opponents to 61.7 PPG and 24.3% from 3-point range. While the perimeter defense has substantially improved in this small sample size, the Blue Devils have become susceptible to athletic wing players over their last three as Terry Rozier, Jamel Artis, and Sir’Dominic Porter of Louisville, Pitt, and St. John’s scored 17, 21, and 21 points respectively versus this new defense.

The Devils are led by the freshman duo of C Jahlil Okafor (18.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.5 BPG) and co-ACC rookie of the week, PG Tyus Jones (10.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.1 APG) who has scored 22 points in his last two games on hot shooting (12-22 FG%; 6-11 from three). Jones is also almost automatic from the line going 46-49 over his past 10 games and leading the ACC at 89% on the season. At 6-foot-10, Okafor provides a matchup nightmare for the undersized Irish front line. Amidst all of the accolades Okafor has received over his individual exploits, it flies under the radar that he’s almost never in foul trouble (0 foul outs this season).

Paramount to Duke’s success versus the perimeter-oriented Irish will be the play of SG Quinn Cook (14.3 PPG, 2.8 APG, 2.6 3P/G) and SG Rasheed Sulaimon (7.7 PPG, 1.2 3P/G). This duo will probably log big minutes to match up with the “four-out” offense of Notre Dame.

Where Duke has a decided advantage, as mentioned with Okafor, is on the glass. PF Amile Jefferson (9.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 66%FG) will bolster the Blue Devils’ advantage on the glass (37.7 RPG; 2^nd overall in ACC Conference play) versus Notre Dame’s sub-par rebounding (-1.9 RPG margin in conference play).

Notre Dame has arguably the most unguardable offense in the country. Their 10^th overall scoring offense (81.9 PPG) is fueled by an ultra-efficient and almost mistake-free, perimeter attack (1.72 A/TO ratio; 1^st in NCAA). The Fighting Irish lead the conference with 9 3PM/G (19^th in NCAA). Their offensive exploits are highlighted when noting that they get to 81.9 PPG all while playing at an average pace (65.5 poss/game, 217^th in NCAA). The Irish boast five players who all make more than one three per game: SF Pat Connaughton (13.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.1 3PM/G), SF V.J. Beachem (8.1 PPG, 1.9 3PM/G), PG Demetrius Jackson (13.4 PPG, 1.9 SPG, 1.7 3PM/G), SG Jerian Grant (17.1 PPG, 6.2 APG, 1.6 3PM/G) and SG Steve Vasturia (8.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.3 3PM/G).

Their play in the paint centers around PF Zach Auguste (13.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 66% FG), who recently returned from a one-game academic suspension. Auguste’s minutes were in the 20’s or lower his first two games back, but he played 36 minutes in the Irish’s OT win over NC State in Raleigh on Sunday while racking up a double-double. While the Irish uncharacteristically blocked six shots on Sunday against the Wolfpack, they don’t have any rim protection to offset Okafor (ND season average is 3.9 BPG).

Jerian Grant is the heart of the Fighting Irish attack. He’s a jack-of-all trades lead guard who has the size (6-foot-5) to get off his shot over smaller opponents and guard any perimeter player on the floor that Mike Brey wants him to. Grant’s recent efficient play shows just how versatile he is (last 4 games: 19.5 PPG, 6.0 APG, 54% FG, 1.5 3PM/G, 1.5 SPG, 1.0 BPG). Connaughton is almost as versatile, as Brey asks the 6-foot-5 forward to not only be the Irish’s best long-range sniper (2.8 3PM/G at a 45% clip) but also to clean the glass – especially on the defensive end (7.1 of 8.4 RPG are defensive).

Jackson, Vasturia and Beachum all provide complimentary perimeter help and defensive versatility for Brey’s Irish. Jackson being a poor-man’s Grant with his ability to distribute (almost 3:1 A/TO) and pilfer (1.9 SPG), Vasturia, a streaky shooter who’s rounded out his game this season to help Connaughton on the glass, and Beachum, who’s a dead-red sniper with 68% of his made FG’s being 3’s this season. Notre Dame’s 73% mark from the charity stripe in ACC play is just percentage points ahead of Duke. Grant shoots just over 78% from the stripe in conference play, as both he and Duke’s Jones make great end-game options when salting away a lead.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter