The No. 7 Duke Blue Devils will travel to Purcell Pavilion this Saturday afternoon to help welcome the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the ACC in the conference opener for both teams. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. (ET), and the game will be broadcast nationally on CBS.

Duke is coming off an 11-2 straight up record in the nonconference portion of its schedule. The Blue Devils have covered in four of their last five outings to post an 8-5 record against the spread heading in this game. The total has stayed “under” in eight of 12 games with a posted line.

Notre Dame ran its overall record to 9-4 SU with an 87-81 overtime victory against Canisius this past Sunday, but it could not cover as a 12.5-point home favorite. The Fighting Irish are 4-6-1 ATS with a costly 1-6-1 ATS record at home. The total has gone “over” in six of 10 games with posted lines this season, but it has stayed under in four of their last six contests.

Duke at Notre Dame Betting Storylines

Duke is riding a five-game SU winning streak into its ACC opener that started with a 79-69 victory over then-No. 22 Michigan as a 7.5-point favorite. This followed a 72-66 loss to No. 1 Arizona as a three-point underdog on Nov. 29. One of the things that we have learned about the Blue Devils so far is that they can shoot the ball and score. They are averaging 85.2 points a game while hitting 50.2 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from 3-point range.

A big part of this early success has been the play of freshman phenom Jabari Parker, who has more than lived up to all the preseason hype. Parker leads the team in points (21.4) and rebounds (8.0) while shooting 52.8 percent from the floor. Rodney Hood is chipping in another 17.2 points while hitting 52.5 percent of his shots from the field. The one area of concern for this team is under the boards with an average of just 35.3 rebounds a game.

The Fighting Irish are 2-2 SU in their last four games after losing to North Dakota State 73-60 as 6.5-point home favorites and to No. 3 Ohio State 64-61 as six-point underdogs. They will be making their ACC debut with an offense that is generating 80.1 points to go along with a defensive effort that has held opposing teams to 70.2 points a game. Notre Dame is shooting 47.5 percent from the field and pulling down an average of 36.5 rebounds.

Jerian Grant had led the way with 19 points and 6.2 assists while hitting 51.8 percent from the floor and 40.8 percent from beyond the arc, but he is no longer with the team due to academics, so the Irish will have to rely on three other players averaging over 13 points a game. Garrick Sherman (14.5 points) and Pat Connaughton (13.2 points) are also adding a combined 14.8 rebounds to the mix and Eric Atkins rounds out this trio with 13.2 points and 4.5 assists a game.

Duke at Notre Dame Betting Tends and Game Lines

BetOnline has opened the Blue Devils as four-point road favorites for Saturday’s contest with the total still OFF the board.

The Blue Devils are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a SU winning record, and the total has stayed under in five of their last six games following a SU win.

The Fighting Irish are 0-4 ATS in their last four games against a team from the ACC and 1-3-1 ATS in their last five games following an ATS loss. The total has gone over in seven of their last 10 games following a SU win.

The last time these two met was in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, with Duke beating Notre Dame 84-77 as a 16-point favorite. The total went over the 160.5 point line in that game.

Free College Basketball Picks: Duke at Notre Dame Betting Predictions

This matchup would have been a great test for the Blue Devils on the road against a team that had the ability to match them point for point through both halves of this contest. However, the huge void left by Grant in Notre Dame’s lineup will take its toll down the stretch as Duke pulls away tocover the four-point spread.

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