Oral Roberts vs Duke Predictions & Odds
March 11, 2023; Greensboro, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Kyle Filipowski (30) reacts after dunking the ball against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of the ACC Championship at the Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
- Duke is a 6.5-point favorite over Oral Roberts in the first round of Thursday’s March Madness action
- The Blue Devils come into the game on a nine-game winning streak, their best season
- Get the latest Oral Roberts vs Duke odds, predictions and bet splits
When most people talk about upsets in the NCAA tournament first round, the conversation inevitably centers on the 5-on-12 encounters. That’s the case again this year as some of the trendiest underdogs in the first round are 12 seeds.
Programs like Drake, VCU and College of Charleston are drawing a lot of attention for their potential for excitement in college basketball ratings, but the same cannot be said of East No. 12 Oral Roberts.
That’s probably because the Golden Eagles face Duke on Thursday, who come into March Madness in fine form.
Oral Roberts vs Duke Odds
| team | spread | money line | In total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Roberts Golden Eagles | +6.5 (-110) | +230 | O 146 (-110) |
| Duke Blue Devils | -6.5 (-110) | -275 | U 146 (-110) |
The Blue Devils are currently favored by 6.5 points, in a 146-point total contest. The tip is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL, with CBS handling the transmission.
Odds as of March 15th at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Oral Roberts vs Duke Betting Splits
From a spread betting perspective, the number of tickets speaks for Duke, while the handle is split right down the middle as of Tuesday night. The Blue Devils pull 61% of the bets as 6.5-point favorites, while 78% of moneyline bettors also side with Duke.
Totally wise, bettors expect a shootout. 56% of over/under bets to date support the over and these bets represent 88% of all money wagered on the total.
Oral Roberts vs Duke betting trends
A big reason why money accumulates in the over is Oral Roberts’ offense. The Golden Eagles rank third in the country with an average of 82.5 points per game. They own the seventh best effective field goal percentage in the nation at 56.1% and rank 35th in three-point efficiency.
That kind of offensive success should lead to a lot of overtickets, but that hasn’t been the case lately. The Under is 7-1 in Oral Roberts’ last eight games, and the Golden Eagles are unlikely to find their typical volume of success against Duke’s top-25 defense.
Can Oral Roberts get rid of the excitement over Duke? 🪄 pic.twitter.com/GsMPb2OVML
— Sports Center (@Sports Center) March 13, 2023
Oral Roberts won 17 straight games en route to the Summit League regular season and conference tournament titles. This looks incredibly impressive on paper, but it’s important to note that they haven’t beaten a single program in the top-165.
They also had major problems covering spreads. The Golden Eagles are 1-8 ATS in their last nine competitions and are only 1-6 against the spread as underdogs in the last two seasons.
Duke, meanwhile, was crushing both straight up and against the spread down the track. They’ve hit the number four straight and are 6-3 ATS during their six-game winning streak. The Blue Devils outscored their opponents by 112 points at this stretch, with an average coverage margin of 6.8 points.
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Oral Roberts vs Duke Predictions
Oral Roberts is led by Max Abrams, yes, the same Max Abrams who nailed his Sweet 16 run in 2021. The senior guard is averaging 22.2 points per game while shooting 38% from three.
After Abrams, the talent cabinet isn’t particularly strong, and Duke is one of the few teams with the size to deal with 7-3 center Connor Vanover. The Blue Devils have their own pair of 7-footers, with freshman Kyle Filipowski leading the team in goals.
The recipe for nurturing the Golden Eagles is simple: force the ball out of Abrams’ hands. Houston executed that strategy perfectly early in the season, leading to an 83-45 victory for the Cougars.
Oral Roberts was 0-3 against the top 71 teams this season, losing all three encounters by at least seven points. Those three losses were also three of the seven lowest-scoring games of the season, boding ill for Thursday’s showdown with Duke.
One of the hottest teams in America, the Blue Devils are very reminiscent of the UConn team that won it all in 2014. This Huskies team was underwhelmed at the start of the season, as was Duke, but rode tremendous track form towards a conference title and eventual national championship.
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The Blue Devils struggled with injury problems early in the season but have been unstoppable since returning to full strength. They’ve beaten three teams in the March Madness group in the past two weeks alone and have the lowest NCAA tournament odds of any team to finish fifth or lower in the past 15 years.
Online sportsbooks are expecting a deep Duke run this year and so should you. Expect them to take on Abrams and drive to an opening round win.
Choice: Duke Blue Devils -6.5 (-110)
Other March Madness predictions for the first round:
Chris Amberley
sports journalist
As a Swiss Army Knife resident at SBD, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he’d rather knock off small ledges in the player prop market than swing a 5-leg parlay for the fences.
https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/news/ncaab/oral-roberts-duke-predictions-odds-blue-devils-6-5-point-favorites/ Oral Roberts vs Duke Predictions & Odds