Duke vs Virginia Picks and Odds (Feb 23)

• No. 7 Duke (23-4, 13-3-3 ACC) takes on Virginia (17-10, 11-6 ACC) Wednesday, February 23rd at 7:00 pm ET in Charlottesville
• The Blue Devils are coming off an 88-70 home win against Florida State on Saturday, while the  Cavaliers knocked off Miami (FL) 74-71 in Coral Gables the same day
• See the current Duke vs Virginia odds, point spread, and game total, plus predictions

The No. 7 Duke Blue Devils (23-4, 13-3 ACC) — whose only loss in the last 10 games was to the Wahoos at home on Feb. 7 — will try to avenge that defeat to the Virginia Cavaliers (17-10, 11-6 ACC) in college basketball on Wednesday at John Paul Jones Arena. Tip off is at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN.

Duke vs Virginia Odds

Odds as of February 22nd, 2022 at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Duke is a four-point favorite over Virginia, while the total is 130. The -184 moneyline price for the Blue Devils amounts to a 64.8% implied win probability, while UVa’s +152 odds to win is equal to 39.7% implied probability.

Mike Krzyzewski’s team had six players score in double figures against the Seminoles, led by Paolo Banchero’s 17 points.  The 18-point victory put the Dukies into sole possession of first place in the ACC and avenged last month’s 79-78 overtime road loss to FSU.

Meantime, Tony Bennett’s club saw reigning conference player of the week Jayden Gardner score 15 of his 23 points in the second half on a 9-of-14 shooting night. Fellow senior Kihei Clark put up 14 of his 17 after the break as the ‘Hoos beat the ‘Canes for a sixth straight time.

Duke and Virginia Have Split Previous Six H2H Matchups

How close has it been between these two programs over the last six matchups, dating back to the 20117-18 season? All but one of the games have been decided by two points or less, including UVa’s one-point victory at Cameron Indoor just over two weeks ago.

Sophomore guard Reece Beekman connected on what proved to be a game-winning 3 with just over one second remaining over Banchero in the 69-68 road victory. Meantime, the possible No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft was held to a season-low nine points. His desperation 3 hit only the side of the backboard to end the game.

Coach K has plenty of talent on his roster this season — as evidenced by the balanced scoring attack against FSU this weekend. But if Banchero struggles against the Cavaliers again, Bennett’s group could sweep Duke for the first time since the 1994-95 season.

The Blue Devils have been one of the truly elite teams in the country during the 2021-22 campaign, losing only four games by a combined nine points! This group responded to one those defeats by blowing out the same opponent the second time around. Will Virginia meet a similar fate of Florida State?

Virginia is 5-1 ATS in Last Six

The Wahoos have played well of late — owning a 5-1 record straight up. They have also gone 5-1 against the spread in that stretch, finally giving the Virginia sports betting community reason to celebrate. (UVA was 9-12 ATS prior.) That includes covering as two-point favorites over Miami on the road Saturday.

Senior forward Gardner is the team’s leading scorer (15.3 ppg) and rebounder (7.1 rpg), but this group wins games with its defense — allowing opponents only 60.1 per game (11th-best in the Division I). The Cavs also take good shots (ranking 78th in offensive adjusted efficiency) and share the ball (ranking 24th in assists/field goals made) especially well.

Armaan Franklin is the group’s only other player averaging in double-figures (11.6 ppg). Virginia is very much on the NCAA Tournament bubble and a sweep of Duke would certainly boost its chances to getting back the Big Dance for the eighth consecutive season.

The most-recent March Madness bracket projection saw them on the outside looking in, but that stemmed from before their win over Miami. Duke was a #3 seed and boasts the second-best NCAA Tournament title odds after Gonzaga.

Duke vs Virginia Prediction

Virginia is 10-4 at JPJA this season — not a completely intimidating home mark, but not horrible either.

The key in this one will be how Banchero and Co. respond to what was Duke’s only blemish over the last month. Despite the Hoos’ defensive prowess, I think the Blue Devils get it done on the road.

Pick: Duke -4 (-114)