College Basketball: Wake Forest vs. Duke Betting Picks: January 28th 2009

Wake Forest vs. Duke Betting Picks
Expert Analysis Courtesy of Lawrence Prezman, An Award-Winning Professional Basketball Handicapper Featured on Touthouse.com. If you are Betting on College Basketball be sure to Buy The Prez’ Expert Basketball Picks

Wake Forest’s stay at No. 1 in the country lasted just one week after being upset by Virginia Tech. Now Duke is the third Tobacco Road team this season to be the top team in the land, but its stay also could be short as the Blue Devils visit now-No. 4 Wake on Wednesday night.

The Blue Devils have opened as 1-point favorites, but I believe Wake knocks off yet another top-10 club. The Deacons were no doubt caught looking ahead to this game when the Hokies got them last Wednesday. But Wake will have had a week off to gear up for the Dukies, who now have been ranked No. 1 in nine seasons since 1997-98, the most of any school (but this is Duke’s first No. 1 ranking since the final AP poll of the 2005-06 season). By the way, it’s just the fourth time in the history of the poll - and the second time for the ACC - that three teams from one conference have been ranked No. 1 in the same season. It’s the first time ever it has been three teams from one state.

There certainly are reasons to believe the Blue Devils keep it going on Wednesday. They have won 10 straight games, the 21st 10+ game win streak under Mike Krzyzewski. They are 2-0 against top-10 teams this season (Xavier, Purdue), just like Wake is (North Carolina, Clemson). Duke has won 20 straight games in the month of January. Duke’s opponents are averaging just 56.2 points per game over the last 10 contests. Duke is allowing just 51.6 points per game in league play, 16.6 points per game than the second-best team. And it has won 20 of the past 24 in this series and 26 of its past 37 games when both teams were ranked in the top 10.

But hold on, grasshopper. The Deacons have won the past two against Duke (by 13 last year in Winston-Salem), and they are just as stingy on defense, holding opponents to an ACC-low 36.8 percent from the floor. The Deacons also should have a big advantage inside with 6-foot-9 Al-Farouq Aminu, 7-footer Chas McFarland and 6-9 James Johnson. And can anyone in that Duke backcourt match up with Wake guard Jeff Teague (21.5 ppg)?

The Deacons have won nine straight home games against in-state competition. Wake’s last home loss to an in-state foe came on Jan. 24, 2007, to UNC. On Wednesday night, the Deacons may be underdogs, but they have speed and athleticism and especially the size to be a bad matchup for Duke.

The home team is 13-3 ATS in the past 16 meetings in this series. That will move to 14-3, and we will have a new No. 1 next week, and it might well be Wake again