South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Duke Blue Devils Odds, March Madness Betting Pick

The Duke Blue Devils are hot again with five wins and covers in a row. Duke is the solid favorite on the college basketball betting odds to extend that winning streak to six straight when it meets up with the South Carolina Gamecocks in an NCAA tournament second-round game on Sunday.

Point spread: The Blue Devils opened as seven-point favorites; the total is at 142, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Line updates and matchup report.

March Madness betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 74.2-74.0 Blue Devils (College basketball picks on every game)

Why South Carolina can cover the spread

No. 7-seeded South Carolina advanced to the second round of this Big Dance by rolling past Marquette on Friday 93-73. The Gamecocks trailed the Golden Eagles by five points early in the second half, then ended the game on a 49-24 run for their first NCAA tournament victory since 1973.

On the night South Carolina shot 53 percent from the field, which was super, considering on the season it's only hitting at a 42 percent rate. The Gamecocks also out-rebounded Marquette 36-28 and won the turnover battle 17-8.

As mentioned, South Carolina can struggle offensively. But the Gamecocks play some tough defense, holding opponents to just 40 percent shooting from the floor this season, only 30 percent from long range and allowing fewer than 65 points per game.

Why Duke can cover the spread

No. 2-seeded Duke reached Sunday's action by topping Troy on Friday 87-65. The Blue Devils, favored by 20 points, led 52-38 at halftime and later by 23 points. Then near the end, with most of its key players still on the floor, Duke secured the cover by scoring seven of the game's final nine points.

On the night the Blue Devils hit 13 of 28 shots from beyond the arc, held the Trojans to just 41 percent field-goal shooting and won the turnover battle 17-8.

Duke's current winning streak includes victories over Louisville, North Carolina and Notre Dame. The Blue Devils are also now 14-6 SU and 10-9-1 ATS against teams that made the NCAA tournament this season.

Smart betting pick

The Gamecocks should have a huge portion of the home-state crowd on their side Sunday, and they'll scrap on defense, but it's unlikely they'll shoot 53 percent again. The smart money here at online sports betting sites wager the Blue Devils.

March Madness betting trends

Duke is 5-0 SU and ATS in its last five games.

South Carolina is 0-5 ATS in its last five games after an ATS win.

The total has gone under in seven of South Carolina's last eight games against the ACC.

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.