Duke vs. Wake Forest Prediction and Odds for Tuesday December 20 (Roach is Back, but Offense is Still an Issue)
By Josh Yourish
After 10 days off, Jon Scheyer’s No. 14 Duke Blue Devils dive back into the ACC slate against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons tonight on the road. They got their first conference victory against Boston College back on December 3, and haven’t lost since nearly a month ago against No. 1 Purdue. Duke is 10-2, but tonight will be their first true road game of the year and an important test for a first-year coach and young team.
Wake Forest’s last outing on Saturday did not go well, they fell 81-57 to Rutgers for their fourth loss in five games. They’re 8-5 and 0-1 in the ACC.
Let’s take a look at the odds for Duke’s second conference game of the season where they’re road favorites.
Duke vs. Wake Forest Odds, Spread and Total
Duke vs. Wake Forest Prediction and Pick
While the Blue Devils have been trying to figure out the offensive end of the floor and their best options for offense, they’ve leaned on their defense.
They’re allowing just 58.7 points a night which is 14th best in college hoops, they’re also running teams off the three-point line. Opponents are shooting 27.1% from deep, also 14th best. That’s bad news for Wake Forest who take the third most three-pointers in the ACC this season and are shooting 35.2% on those shots. In their blowout loss last game, they actually shot it great from deep, 11/26, they just only made nine shots inside the arc and were six of nine from the free-throw line.
This is a game that Wake Forest will get up for, everyone does against Duke, but if they don’t figure out how to score more efficiently and more consistently then they have no shot. I also worry about Duke’s scoring ability, but feel much better knowing that Jeremy Roach will be back healthy tonight. Roach is the veteran guard that this team needs and he gets Kyle Filipowski the ball in advantageous situations.
Duke is 317th in the country in possessions per game, that slow pace means that the under is the play with them. The under has hit in eight of their 12 games and will again tonight.
Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change