Check out our North Carolina vs. Duke betting picks and odds for the NCAA tournament Final Four game that will take place in Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA, on April 2, 2022.
The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils will face each other in the Final Four game at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The Tobacco Road rivalry dates back to 1920 and after 102 years this will be the first time the two schools meet at the NCAA tournament. North Carolina leads the all time series by 142-115. The Tar Heels has won 3 of the last 4 matchups, most recently 94-81 in March in Mike Krzyzewski’s last game at the Cameron Indoor Stadium.
This will be North Carolina’s record 21st Final Four appearance while Duke is among the top 4 teams for 17th time. North Carolina has won 6 titles, the last one in 2017 and Duke has 5 championships all of them under coach Krzyzewski who is making his 13th Final Four appearance in 43 seasons with the Blue Devils. This is an unique opportunity to bet on a March Madness game between two of the most famous teams in the country.
How North Carolina got to the Final Four?
North Carolina had a decent regular season finishing second in the ACC with 28 wins and 9 losses. As the regular season progressed, the team improved their game under first-year coach Hubert Davis. The Tar Heels made it to the conference semifinals where they lost 72-59 to Virginia Tech.
In the NCAA tournament, North Carolina had very confident performances in all four games and other than the game against Baylor, they weren’t even challenged.
The Tar Heels started with a 95-63 win over Marquette building a 28-point lead by halftime and then routinely closing the game. Power forward Brady Manek led the team with 28 points and 11 rebounds.
The following game started pretty similar as North Carolina had a 25-point lead against the defending champion Baylor but the Bears managed to come back and send the game to overtime. The Tar Heels managed to regroup quickly and close the game with a 93-86 win. Sophomore guard RJ Davis was brilliant recording 30 points and 6 assists.
The Sweet 16 game brought the UCLA Bruins who were coming off a championship game appearance the previous season. The Tar Heels had control over the scoreboard throughout the game and won 73-66 with Caleb Love counting to 30 points.
The biggest surprise of the tournament, the Saint Peters Peacocks were the Elite 8 opponent and the Tar Heels easily put an end to the Cinderella story winning by 69-49 with Armando Bacot’s huge double-double of 20 points and 22 rebounds.
North Carolina is ranked 28th in the country with 78.6 points per game and 21st with 37.4% shooting from behind the three point line. Armando Bacot leads the team with 16.5 points and 12.8 rebounds per game.
How Duke got to the Final Four?
The Duke Blue Devils finished the season on top of the ACC with 32 wins and 6 losses. They made it to the conference finals where they lost to Virginia Tech by 82-67 which is their largest loss of the season.
Coach Krzyzewski, who is going to retire after this season, led the team to a superior performance during the NCAA tournament so far. The Blue Devils started with an easy 78-61 win over CSU Fullerton with Paolo Banchero leading the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Duke went past Michigan State in the second round winning by 85-76 with Banchero scoring 19. The Italian guard was once again the best player on the team with 22 points in the Sweet 16 round as the Blue Devils defeated Texas Tech by 78-73.
In the Elite 8, the Blue Devils faced Arkansas who proved to be a tough opponent but Duke played on their recognizable level in the final minutes and went on to win 78-69 with freshman AJ Griffin scoring 18 points.
Duke is ranked 9th in the country with 80.4 points per game and 13th with 48.9% shooting from the field. Paolo Banchero leads the team with 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
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North Carolina vs. Duke Game Info
Final Four: No.8 North Carolina vs No.2 Duke
Tipoff Time: Saturday, April 2, 8:49 pm EST
TV: TBS
Location: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
North Carolina vs. Duke Game Odds per DraftKings
These are the North Carolina vs. Duke odds:
- Spread: Duke -4
- Over/under: 151
- Moneyline: Duke -190, North Carolina +160
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North Carolina vs. Duke Prediction
Now after we have the basic info for the game and teams’ season, it’s time to share our betting predictions on the North Carolina vs. Duke game.
North Carolina vs. Duke Picks
North Carolina +4 (-110)
Under 151 points (-110)
North Carolina to cover the spread [+4]
The Duke Blue Devils are a 4-point favorites per DraftKings going into this one which is pretty much for a Final Four game. North Carolina proved in their last meeting that they can compete against the Blue Devils, as a matter of fact they won by 13 points in the Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels are playing great team basketball and have many players that can step up and win the game on any given night. Coach Davis’ team had an impressive tournament so far and the Tar Heels will definitely keep the game close and maybe even win at the end.
The Tar Heels have covered the spread in the last 4 games but in only 2 of the last 6 tournament games as underdogs. The Blue Devils have covered the spread in only 3 of the last 10 tournament games as favorites.
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Under 151 Total Points
If you go by the stats this seems like a game that will easily go over the total points margin but if you take into the consideration what is on the line than you may want to thing twice about that. Both teams are scoring around 80 points per game but that will not be the case in this one. The pressure and the scene will take its toll and there will be longer possessions than usual and with that, fewer shots and fewer points. This far in the tournament, the defense wins games and both coaches will pay more attention on defending the three-point shot which will bring lower percentage than usual.
The Tar Heels have played over in the last 6 games against a team with a winning straight up record while the Blue Devils have done so in the last four of those.