CBB: Duke at Georgia Tech (2:00 PM ET, ESPN)

The third game matching ranked opponents on Saturday afternoon pits Duke & Georgia Tech from Atlanta. Both teams are covering 2/3 of their games or more on the season, so something has to give. The Yellow Jackets are capable of the upset, but need to be a

2010-01-09

The third game matching ranked opponents on Saturday afternoon pits Duke & Georgia Tech from Atlanta. Both teams are covering 2/3 of their games or more on the season, so something has to give. The Yellow Jackets are capable of the upset, but need to be at the top of their game. Expect bettors at Sportsbook.com to side with Duke in heavy volume.

To this point of the season, this is a different Duke team than in the last few seasons under coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils (13-1, 9-4 ATS) still have a great deal panache from the perimeter, however this season Brian Zoubek and the other Duke front court players have given them more production in the paint area. This had allowed Duke to negate some other strength’s of opponents. This gives Coach K more options against bigger teams instead of having to play small, which has been the case in recent years. The Dukies are a stellar 63-34 ATS in January.

After falling to Florida State in the ACC lid-lifter, Georgia Tech (11-3, 6-3 ATS) returns to conference play with three challenging conflicts, starting with Duke. Coach Paul Hewitt brought in a sensational freshman class and has played four of them extensively to date, often starting three of them. The Yellow Jackets have been buzzing around on defense, holding opponents to a sensational 35.9 percent shooting, which has helped them to a fast start. Against teams like Duke, Georgia Tech has to put the ball in the basket with greater consistency to improve on its 30-14 ATS record as a home underdog or pick.

Duke is 10-1 and 8-3 ATS at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in last 11 visits.

The StatFox Power Line shows Duke by 11.

Latest College Basketball News

Click here to read latest College Basketball news