College Basketball Picks: Duke Blue Devils vs. UCLA Bruins

The Duke Blue Devils have won 15 of their last 18 games at Madison Square Garden, which is important to consider when making your college basketball picks on Thursday as they prepare to take on the UCLA Bruins in New York City.

Sports bettors will find that the Blue Devils are four-point neutral-site favorites in the NCAA basketball odds, with no total established in the market.

Let's take a closer look at this nonconference affair from a betting perspective, while offering up a prediction along the way.

Gambling stats via SBR Forum.

Duke Blue Devils

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The Duke Blue Devils have won 22 consecutive games in December, including an 85-66 victory over the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs as 26-point home favorites on Monday.

College basketball handicappers will find that the Blue Devils are 5-2 straight up and against the spread as favorites of 3.5 to six points on a neutral floor over the last two-plus seasons.

UCLA Bruins

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The UCLA Bruins have registered a 6-9 all-time record against Duke, including a 1-7 mark since Mike Krzyzewski took over as the Blue Devils' head coach.

Over the last two-plus seasons, the Bruins are 9-8 against the spread as underdogs, with the UNDER going 9-7-1 in that situation. 

Prediction

I'm going to recommend that readers back the UCLA Bruins, as the Duke Blue Devils have failed to cover the number in five of their last seven games versus teams with a winning record.

College Basketball Pick: UCLA Bruins +4

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