Oral Roberts vs Duke Predictions & Odds – Blue Devils 6.5-Point Favorites

• Duke is a 6.5-point favorite over Oral Roberts in first round March Madness action on Thursday
• The Blue Devils enter play riding a season-best nine-game winning streak
• Get the latest Oral Roberts vs Duke odds, predictions, and betting splits

When most people talk about first-round upsets at the NCAA Tournament, the conversation inevitably focuses on the 5 vs 12 matchups. That’s the case again this year, as some of the trendiest underdogs in the first round are 12 seeds.

Programs like Drake, VCU and College of Charleston are generating plenty of buzz for their upset potential in the college basketball odds, but the same cannot be said about the East’s #12 seed, Oral Roberts.

That’s likely because the Golden Eagles have to square off against Duke on Thursday, who enter March Madness in peak form.

Oral Roberts vs Duke Odds

The Blue Devils are currently favored by 6.5 points, in a contest that features a total of 146. Tip-off is slated for 7:10 pm ET at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL, with CBS providing the broadcast coverage.

Odds as of March 15 at DraftKings Sportsbook. See full list of March Madness betting promos. 

Oral Roberts vs Duke Betting Splits

From a spread betting perspective, the ticket count favors Duke, while the handle is split directly down the middle as of Tuesday evening. The Blue Devils are drawing 61% of the wagers as 6.5 point favorites, while 78% of moneyline bettors are also siding with Duke.

Total wise, bettors are expecting a shootout. 56% of the over/under bets so far are backing the over, and those wagers represent 88% of all money wagered on the total.

Oral Roberts vs Duke Betting Trends

A big reason why money is piling in on the over is due to the Oral Roberts offense. The Golden Eagles rank third in the country in scoring, averaging 82.5 points per game. They own the nation’s seventh best effective field goal percentage at 56.1%, and rank 35th in three point efficiency.

That type of offensive success should lead to plenty of over tickets cashing, but that hasn’t been the case lately. The under is 7-1 in Oral Roberts’ last eight games, and the Golden Eagles are unlikely to find their typical volume of success versus Duke’s top-25 defense.

Can Oral Roberts pull off the upset over Duke? 🪄 pic.twitter.com/GsMPb2OVML

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 13, 2023

Oral Roberts won 17 straight games down the stretch, en route to Summit League regular season and conference tournament titles. On paper that looks incredibly impressive, but it’s important to note they didn’t beat a single program ranked inside the top-165.

They also struggled badly to cover spreads. The Golden Eagles are 1-8 ATS in their last nine contests, and are just 1-6 against the spread as underdogs over the last two seasons.

Duke meanwhile, crushed both straight up and against the spread down the stretch. They’ve beaten the number in four straight, and are 6-3 ATS during their six-game winning streak. The Blue Devils have outscored their opponents by 112 points during that stretch, with an average cover margin of 6.8 points.

Oral Roberts vs Duke Predictions

Oral Roberts is led by Max Abrams, yes the same Max Abrams that keyed their Sweet 16 run back in 2021. The senior guard is averaging 22.2 points per game, while shooting 38% from three.

After Abrams, the talent cupboard isn’t particularly strong, and Duke is one of the few teams with the size to handle 7-3 center Connor Vanover. The Blue Devils feature a pair of 7-footers of their own, with freshman Kyle Filipowski leading the team in scoring.

The recipe for taking care of the Golden Eagles is simple: force the ball out of Abrams hands. Houston deployed that strategy to perfection early in the season, and it led to an 83-45 Cougars win.

Oral Roberts was 0-3 versus top-71 ranked teams this season, losing all three meetings by at least seven points. Those three losses were also three of their seven lowest scoring games of the season, which doesn’t bode well for Thursday’s showdown with Duke.

The Blue Devils are one of the hottest teams in America, and they’re very reminiscent of the UConn team that won it all back in 2014. That Huskies team underwhelmed to start the season, just like Duke, but rode tremendous form down the stretch to a conference title and an eventual national championship.

🚨BIG BET ALERT🚨

A bettor at @DKSportsbook wagered $1,500 on Duke to win the National Championship at +3500 odds 👀

The payout would be $54,000 🤑 pic.twitter.com/D3yp0Eftc1

— SportsBettingDime (@SBD) March 14, 2023

The Blue Devils battled injury issues to start the season, but since getting back to full strength have been unstoppable. They’ve beaten three teams in the March Madness bracket in the last two-plus weeks alone, and boast the shortest NCAA Tournament odds of any team seeded fifth or lower in the last 15 years.

Online sportsbooks expect a deep Duke run this year and you should too. Expect them to clamp down on Abrams and cruise to an opening round win.

Pick: Duke Blue Devils -6.5 (-110)

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