Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Odds, Basketball Betting Pick

The 17th-ranked Duke Blue Devils (23-7, 11-6 ACC) will look for a sweep of the fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (25-6, 13-4) on Saturday night when they visit Chapel Hill as road underdogs.

The Blue Devils won the first meeting 86-78 as 2.5-point home favorites on February 9 as part of a seven-game winning streak, but they have since lost two of their last three games.

Point spread: The Tar Heels opened as six-point favorites; the total is at 156.5, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Line updates and matchup report.

College basketball betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 73.2-62.8 Tar Heels (College basketball picks on every game)

Why the Blue Devils can cover the spread

Duke has dominated this intrastate conference rivalry lately, going 5-1 straight up and 4-2 against the spread in the past six meetings. The Blue Devils remain one of the most talented teams in the country despite their recent struggles that included road losses to the Syracuse Orange and Miami Hurricanes by a combined eight points.

Duke upset North Carolina 74-73 as an 8.5-point road underdog last February 17 and can certainly do it again in this spot.

Why the Tar Heels can cover the spread

The Tar Heels have been perfect at home this season, and they have also covered eight of their last 10 there. In their last home game, they topped the eighth-ranked Louisville Cardinals 74-63 as 6.5-point favorites on February 22. They then routed the Pittsburgh Panthers 85-67 as nine-point road chalk last Saturday before falling to the Virginia Cavaliers 53-43 as 3.5-point road favorites on Monday.

North Carolina has not lost consecutive games this year, and that will probably need to happen to not cover.

Smart betting pick

The Blue Devils would love to prevent the Heels from winning the outright ACC regular-season title and beat them for the sixth time in seven meetings. They managed to defeat the 15th-ranked Florida State Seminoles 75-70 on Tuesday behind a season-high 22 points from freshman Frank Jackson, who stepped up with junior Grayson Allen ailing due to an ankle injury.

With or without Allen, Duke has more talent than North Carolina and will pick up another statement victory heading into the conference tournament. Bet on the Blue Devils to break a four-game non-cover skid here.

College basketball betting trends

The Blue Devils are 5-14 ATS in their last 19 games.

The Blue Devils are 5-4 ATS in their last nine games against the Tar Heels.

The under is 8-2 in the Tar Heels' last 10 games.

All college basketball lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.