After a win against Vermont Friday night, No. 4-seed Duke is back in action against No. 12-seed James Madison. Before tipoff, the Blue Zone is here with some can’t-miss prop bets:
Duke (-7.5) vs. James Madison
The Blue Devils’ last game against Vermont may have felt stressful and tight, but at the end of the day, Duke ended with a 17-point win while holding the Catamounts to 47 points. The defensive domination and offensive acuity shown at the end was a very encouraging sign for Blue Devil nation and should translate to Sunday’s game. On the other side, James Madison has dominated weaker teams, and its first-round upset was against a severely flawed Wisconsin side. This talented group from Durham has the ability to overtake the Dukes and will be looking to play their best game in order to survive and advance in the tournament.
Pick: Duke -7.5
Over/Under 148.5 total points
148.5 points for a game between James Madison and Duke is a seemingly low line for two teams that have averaged 84.0 and 79.4 points per game this season, respectively. However, the Dukes’ points per game has been very high due to their low quality of schedule this year. James Madison has gone over 148.5 in 22 of its 35 contests, but many of these high-scoring affairs have come in games against teams far worse than them. On the other hand, only 14 of the Blue Devils’ 33 games have gone over the 148.5 mark, with a good number of them coming against far inferior competition in non-conference play. The Dukes are a talented team with a versatile group of scorers, but Duke’s stalwart defense has shut down many high-flying offenses.
Pick: Under 148.5 total points
Kyle Filipowski over/under 16.5 points
In Friday’s victory against Vermont, the 7-foot center had a career low in shots. He only took one attempt, when his other lowest mark in a game this season was six. His previous career low in shots was three, which happened three times all the way back in 2022. The Catamounts forced him to such a low tally without anyone over 6-foot-8 playing any significant minutes by swarming him inside whenever he touched the ball. James Madison would be foolish to ignore Vermont’s successful game plan in limiting the Blue Devils’ big man and would be wise to emulate it Sunday evening.
Pick: Under 16.5 points
Tyrese Proctor over/under 11.5 points
This season, against teams that have made the NCAA tournament, Tyrese Proctor averaged 11.1 points per game, a tick above his season average of 10.6. However, he’s tallied that average on an inefficient 32-of-88 shooting total, seven percentage points below his season average. In a game against a Dukes team that can score with anyone in college basketball, Duke will need to be more efficient from the floor, and that means fewer shots for Proctor.
Pick: Under 11.5 points
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