Duke vs Virginia Tech Odds, Lines & Picks (Jan. 23)

• Virginia Tech and Duke meet in an ACC game Monday, January 23.
• Virginia Tech is a 1.5-point home favorite over the Blue Devils in Blacksburg.
• Read below for Duke vs Virginia Tech odds, analysis and prediction.

Virginia Tech (11-8, 1-7 ACC) is a 1.5-point home favorite over Duke in an ACC game at 7 pm Monday at Cassell Coliseum on ESPN. The Hokies have lost seven in a row after falling 51-50 at No. 19 Clemson on a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds Saturday.

Duke (14-5, 5-3 ACC) have won three of the last four games after stopping No. 17 Miami 68-66 at home Saturday. The Blue Devils fell out of the AP Top 25 last week for the first time since 2020-21.

Duke vs Virginia Tech Odds

Odds from DraftKings on Jan. 22. Claim the DraftKings promo code. 

Virginia Tech is a 1.5-point home favorite over Duke in a series that only recently has become competitive. The Hokies won and covered two of the three meetings last season, capped with a 82-67 blowout in the championship game of the ACC tournament. Duke had won the previous three games and over a longer stretch was 13-3 SU and 8-8 ATS since the 2013-14 season.

Duke is 7-12 ATS this season, 0-4 ATS on the road. Virginia Tech is 6-13 ATS, 5-5 ATS at home. The total has gone over in five of the last seven series meetings.

Duke Leader Roach Is Back

Point guard and senior leader Jeremy Roach returned after missing the previous three games because of a toe injury in the victory over Miami, and his presence helped the Blue Devils win for the third time in four games. Roach had 14 points, four assists and two steals in 27 minutes off the bench against the Hurricanes, but it is clear that offense  remains an issue for first-year coach Jon Scheyer following the loss of the top five scorers from 2021-22 to the NBA.

Jeremy Roach doing a little bit of everything for Duke today 😈 @Jeremyroach10 @DukeMBB
21 Points
5 Assists
9-14 FG pic.twitter.com/z1IjaQzYxG

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) November 26, 2022

Freshman center 7′ Kyle Filipowski is near a double-double at 15 points and 9.5 rebounds and Roach (12.0 points, a team-high 3.3 assists) are the only double-digit scorers on a team that is shooting only 42.9 percent from the floor, in the lowest 25th percentile of Division I teams.  Freshman 6’8 Mark Mitchell (9.3 points) and guard 6’5 Tyrese Proctor also comprise one of the youngest starting fives in Division I. The Blue Devils have won three of their last four with 2023 No. 1 national recruit freshman forward 6’7 Dariq Whitehead (8.3 points) starting in place of No. 2 national recruit freshman 7’1 Dereck Lively II.

Duke wins with defense and rebounding. It is limiting opponents to 41.1 percent shooting from the floor and 29.5 percent from distance. The Blue Devils’ plus-8.8 rebound margin is fourth in Division I, and their plus-4.5 margin on the offensive glass is ninth.

Virginia Tech in a Slump

The Hokies have faced a double-whammy during their seven-game skid. Five of the seven losses have been on the ACC road, four were without shooting guard Hunter Cattoor (fractured elbow) and three were to ranked teams (Clemson twice, Virginia). The total margin in those losses is 35 points, and five were decided by five points or less. The numbers do not connate a 7-11 team. The Hokies are shooting 46.6 percent from the field  and have a plus-1.6 rebound margin and are ninth in Division I with 10.1 turnovers per game.

Hunter Cattoor. Tough as a pine knot. pic.twitter.com/Ikd9kAaG8o

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) January 22, 2023

Sophomore guard 6’1 Sean Padulla (15.9 points, 4.2 assists) has taken a huge step up this season, joining 6’3 Cattoor (9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds) in the backcourt and and 6’9 Grant Basile (13.8, 5.5) and 6’7 Justyn Mutts (13.1, 7.7) up front. The Hokies are 1-4 without Cattoor, who had 31 points and four threes in the Hokies’ 82-67 victory over Duke in the final of the 2022 ACC tournament.

Duke vs Virginia Tech Prediction

The Hokies beat North Carolina, Dayton and Oklahoma State in December, so the talent is there. The Hokies’ recent skid is reminiscent of last season, when they lost six of eight (four by five points or less) in December-January before going on a 13-2 tear that ended with a loss to Texas in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Virginia Tech has won four of the last five meetings in Blacksburg, and laying the points against young, poor-shooting Duke is the value here.

• Pick: Virginia Tech -1.5 (-105)
• Season CBK: 24-12 ATS