The No. 15 Iona Gaels (20-13) battle against the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (26-7) in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. The game is scheduled to get underway at 2:45 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 15, 2018.
The game’s Over/Under (O/U) opened at 157.5 points with Duke set as a 19.5-point favorite.
Iona Gaels vs. Duke Blue Devils Free Prediction
In the , the Gaels topped the Fairfield Stags, 83-71. The Gaels knocked down 23 of their 27 free throws (85.2 percent) and had a better effective field goal percentage (0.508 vs. 0.477). With 29 points on 9-for-15 shooting, Roland Griffin was the game’s high scorer.
The Blue Devils fell to the No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels in the , 74-69. North Carolina’s turnover percentage was their biggest advantage over Duke. The Tar Heels had a rate of 14.3 (worse than their season average of 14.1), while the Blue Devils posted a mark of 21.9 (above their season average of 14.8). Duke’s Marvin Bagley III finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in the game.
The sweet-shooting offense of Duke (20th in the NCAA with an effective field goal percentage 0.560) will battle against the bottom-tier defense of Iona (256th in effective field goal percentage allowed 0.521). The Blue Devils figure to have the advantage on that end of the court. Ball protection should be an advantage for the Gaels. They rank 32nd at avoiding errors (turnover percentage of 16.1 percent). Conversely, the Blue Devils force the 76th-fewest turnovers in the NCAA (opponents’ turnover percentage of 17.0 percent).
Iona heads into the contest with records of 20-13 straight up (SU) and 15-13-1 against the spread (ATS). Of the Gaels’ 29 games that accepted bets, 16 have finished over the projected point total.
Meanwhile, Duke is 26-7 SU and 20-11 ATS. Of the Blue Devils’ 31 games that accepted bets, 17 have finished over the total.
Iona Gaels vs. Duke Blue Devils Betting Pick
Prediction: SU Winner – Duke, ATS Winner – Duke, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes:
Duke averages 41.9 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the NCAA. Iona ranks 259th in rebounds allowed per game (37.6).
The Blue Devils rank ninth in assists per game (17.5) while the Gaels rank 220th in assists allowed per game (14.6).
Iona ranks 55th in three pointers attempted per game (24.9) while Duke ranks 242nd in three pointers allowed per game (23.6).
The Blue Devils rank 13th in blocks per game (5.4) while the Gaels rank 158th (3.1).
Iona ranks 25th in steals allowed per game (5.1) while Duke ranks 86th (5.8).
Bettings Trends:
The Gaels’ average margin of victory in their last five games has been 6.2, up from 3.7 for the season.
During their last five games, the Blue Devils have scored an average of 70.8 points per game (13.9 below their season average) and allowed an average of 63.2 points per game (6.4 below their season average).
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