After a brief hiatus for the holidays, Duke men’s basketball is back in a home matchup against Queens. The Blue Zone is here with some can’t-miss prop bets:
Duke (-28) vs Queens
Duke is set to host Queens after a thrilling victory against then-No. 10 Baylor at Madison Square Garden 10 days ago. With 6:30 remaining in the second half and the score knotted at 61 each, the Blue Devils went on a 14-1 run to pull away and secure the victory. Freshman guard Jared McCain led all scorers, scoring 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting. All five starters for Duke ended the game with double-digit points, and Ryan Young provided a massive boost off the bench in the second half when sophomore center Kyle Filipowski had to sit due to foul trouble.
The Royals enter the contest after a tough loss at the hands of then-No. 18 Clemson. Queens was thoroughly outclassed, trailing for nearly the whole game and losing by a final score of 109-79. Senior forward BJ McLaurin tried to keep it competitive, scoring 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc and grabbing four rebounds, while junior guard AJ McKee, the team’s leading scorer on the year, added 18 points of his own. While the Royals struggle at times defensively, they average 80.7 points per game and have four players on the roster averaging in double digits.
The Blue Devils certainly have the talent and height advantage, as the only player listed on the Queens roster taller than 6-foot-8 averages under 15 minutes per game. However, Queens possesses the firepower to score at will with their talented guard duo of McKee and junior Deyton Albury. Expect senior guard Jeremy Roach and McCain to have their hands full defensively, and the Royals' offensive fireworks to keep it closer than Vegas expects.
Pick: Queens +28
Over/Under 159.5 Points
Queens scores a lot of points. Against March Madness legends Fairleigh Dickinson University (who became just the second No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed last season), the Royals scored 97 points, led by McKee who had 26 on 11-for-19 shooting. Facing Carolina University, Queens dropped 112 points on the lowly Bruins, with every player who entered the game registering a point. Lastly, matched up with Carolina Christian College, the Royals won 134-69, with freshman guard Kobe George scoring 24 points on 9-13 shooting in just 22 minutes off the bench. Although its recent matchup was certainly a blowout loss at the hands of Clemson, scoring 79 points shows that Queens can score even against a higher caliber ACC basketball program like Duke.
Duke is certainly no slouch on offense either. The Blue Devils average 81.3 points per game, with five players on the roster averaging double-digit points per game. Led by Filipowski’s 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, Duke has scored 90 or more points in three contests this year. Their lowest scoring effort was a defensive, neutral site battle against then-No. 18 Michigan State, where the Blue Devils only scored 74 points. Taken together, Duke and Queens have the ability to turn Saturday’s contest into a track meet.
Pick: Over
Jared McCain Over/Under 14.5 Points:
Jared McCain seemed to enjoy his debut under the primetime lights at The World’s Most Famous Arena, hitting shots at a 63% clip and knocking down 3-of-6 three point attempts. With the potential continued injury absence of sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor, Duke will continue to need McCain to flourish offensively, making mature decisions on the ball and converting open shots when asked. Expect the freshman to capitalize off his momentum and help the Blue Devils in the scoring department.
Pick: Over
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