Rhode Island Rams vs. Duke Blue Devils Odds, March Madness Betting Pick

Coming off one of the biggest routs on the first day of the NCAA tournament, the second-seeded Duke Blue Devils (27-7) will next take on the seventh-seeded Rhode Island Rams (26-7) as big favorites for Saturday's round-of-32 matchup in the Midwest Region.

The Blue Devils blew out the 15th-seeded Iona Gaels 89-67 on Thursday to cover the spread as 21-point favorites.

March Madness point spread: The Blue Devils opened as 9.5-point favorites; the total is at 150, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

March Madness betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 77.5-63.2, Blue Devils (March Madness picks on every game)

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Why Rhode Island can cover the spread

Duke did not really get much of a challenge in the round of 64, and Rhode Island should at least provide a test following an 83-78 overtime victory against the 10th-seeded Oklahoma Sooners. The Rams trailed the Sooners 35-31 at halftime and rallied behind Fatts Russell, who scored 15 points off the bench, including three three-pointers.

Rhode Island's bench outscored Oklahoma's 33-14, and that proved to be the difference in a close game. The Rams have won three of their last four games now, with the lone loss to the Davidson Wildcats in the Atlantic 10 tournament title game.

Why Duke can cover the spread

When the Blue Devils get a big lead, few teams in the country can come back against them, with the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels being one of the exceptions. Duke jumped out to a 53-39 halftime lead and coasted from there, although Iona did have a few late chances to cover in the final minute.

The Blue Devils got 22 points and seven rebounds from Marvin Bagley III while three other starters also scored in double figures. They have covered the spread in each of their last 10 wins and will be able to wear down a tired team that needed OT to advance.

Smart betting pick

Rhode Island has failed to cover the spread in its last three losses as an underdog along with eight of nine. In addition, the Rams are just 4-19 straight up and 7-16 against the spread in their last 23 games as underdogs overall, which obviously means they have performed poorly in that role. Duke is simply too good to lose to Rhode Island in this spot and will cover easily.

March Madness betting trends

The total has gone under in eight of Duke's last nine games.

Duke is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games.

Rhode Island is 0-4 SU and ATS in its last four games against the ACC.

All college basketball odds and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.