The Louisville Cardinals hit the road for the third consecutive game on Saturday, taking on the Duke Blue Devils in legendary Cameron Indoor Stadium. This is the first matchup of the two ACC powerhouses since the Cardinals blew a 23-point lead at home against Duke last season.
Louisville has won three ACC games in a row after falling to the Florida State Seminoles at home two weeks ago. All-American Jordan Nwora continues to be fantastic for the Cardinals, but he is receiving little help from his teammates as of late.
Freshman point guard David Johnson is coming off his best game at the collegiate level, though. Malik Williams, Ryan McMahon and Samuell Williamson have all been tremendously inconsistent this season and sometimes non-existent.
If this Cardinals team is going to realize its championship potential, everyone needs to get on the same page.
Duke is coming off an embarrassing loss to Clemson on Tuesday evening. The Blue Devils had won nine games in a row since their last embarrassing loss of the season at home to Stephen F. Austin.
Duke appeared to be establishing itself as the best team in the nation prior to Tuesday night and will no doubt be hungry on Saturday in front of a raucous crowd.
The Blue Devils will be without Wendell Moore, while Joey Baker is questionable after missing the Clemson game, which leaves them absent quality depth on the wing. Of course, Duke still boasts two of the best players in the ACC in Vernon Carey Jr. and Tre Jones, along with Cassius Stanley and his momentum-shifting athleticism.
This matchup has the potential to be the best game thus far in ACC play and still carries the remnants from Louisville’s epic collapse in last season’s game. The core of last season’s Louisville team is, once again, the key components in this season’s group.
The result will be heavily talked about in the pregame as well as during the broadcast.
Duke is a 7.5-point favorite at home, with the over/under set at 137.5.
Cardinals Need To Be More Consistent
While the Cardinals are currently 11th in the country, they have yet to really put it all together on the season. Louisville is 14-3 straight up but just 8-9 overall against the spread and 2-4 ATS on the road.
The Cardinals are 3-1 on the over/under in true road games this season and four of their last five games dating back to last season.
Blue Devils Look To Get Back On Track
Duke has been one of the easier teams to wager on this season, winning 13 of 15 games straight up as a favorite on the season. The Blue Devils are 10-7 against the spread overall but just 5-4 ATS at home.
The total has gone over in 11 of their 17 games and hit the over in six of their nine home games. Against Louisville, the total has gone under in five of the last seven matchups.
Pick and Prediction
On paper, the Cardinals have what it takes to go into Cameron Indoor Stadium and collect a win, but their play lately has been less than inspiring. Of course, on the flip side, Duke is coming off of a performance that was not exactly awe-inspiring.
Nwora has remained consistent this season for the most part and should provide enough firepower to keep the score close. There is little chance the Blue Devils drop two consecutive games and, as a program, are 30-7 straight up in January home games dating back to 2010-11. Take Louisville to cover even though Duke will win, and play the over.
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