Pittsburgh Panthers vs Duke Blue Devils Prediction, 12/29/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Panthers vs Duke Blue Devils

Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC

TV: ACCN

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+10.5)

Cameron Indoor Stadium is the site where and the Duke Blue Devils (3-2) will take on the Pittsburgh Panthers (5-2) on Tuesday. The spread on this contest has Duke as 10.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 141.

Pittsburgh will enter this matchup with a mark of 5-2 so far this year. They are turning it over 14.4 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 19.9 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Pittsburgh is grabbing 41.9 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 106 dimes this season, which ranks 127th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Panthers are hitting 31.3% on shots from 3-point land (45 of 144) and 60.8% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 72.0 points per outing (199th in D-1) while connecting on 43.7% from the field. Defensively, the Panthers are able to force 15.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.7 fouls. The Panthers are giving up a shooting percentage of 39.3% (158 of 402) and they concede 35.1 boards per contest as a squad. They are 197th in D-1 in allowing assists with 91 relinquished so far this season. They are giving up 26.3% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 76th in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (64.6).

The Pittsburgh Panthers stepped onto the hardwood against the Louisville Cardinals and ended up losing by a score of 64-54 in their last game. Pittsburgh walked away from the contest having earned a 40.4% field goal percentage (21 out of 52) and knocked down 4 out of their 14 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Panthers knocked down 8 of 19 tries for a percentage of 42.1%. With respect to hauling in rebounds, they earned 24 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 6 assists for this contest while earning 8 steals and 2 blocked shots. In terms of defending, Pittsburgh allowed the other team to go 40.4% from the field on 21 out of 52 shooting. Louisville doled out 11 assists and had 4 steals for the matchup. Additionally, the Cardinals grabbed 42 rebounds (13 offensive, 29 defensive) and earned 2 blocked shots. Louisville ended up going 57.1% when shooting free throws by making 12 of their 21 tries. They knocked down 4 out of their 17 attempts from downtown.

Femi Odukale is someone who was important in this contest. He walked away with 16 points on 7 out of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 30 minutes and snagged 3 boards. Odukale shot 46.7% from the floor and also totaled 2 dimes. One more player that was a contributor in the game for the Panthers was Xavier Johnson. He totaled 2 boards and accounted for 2 assists. He finished 33.3% from the floor for this game via 3-of-9 (10 points). When the final whistle blew, Johnson played 22 minutes.

Duke has a record of 3-2 this year. Duke has totaled 369 points for the season (73.8 per contest) and they pull down 38.8 boards per game. The Blue Devils have committed 18.0 personal fouls every game and they connect on 68.1% from the free throw line. On the offensive side of the court, the Blue Devils are shooting 45.6% from the field, which ranks 151st in college basketball. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.2 times per contest (146th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 14.4 times per game. The Blue Devils defensively are ranked 165th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 69.6. They are forcing 14.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.9% from the field (224th in Division 1). The Duke defense allows 35.4% on 3-point attempts (34 of 96) and their opposition makes 68.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 10.8 assists and 32.8 boards per contest, which is ranked 66th and 92nd in the nation.

In their last game, the Duke Blue Devils walked away with a victory by a final of 75-65 when they played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Blue Devils collected 23 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 30 for the matchup. They also blocked 2 attempts while getting 8 steals in the matchup. The Fighting Irish earned 11 fouls in this contest which took the Blue Devils to the charity stripe for a total of 5 shots. They were able to knock down 5 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 100.0%. Pertaining to three-point attempts, Duke made 8 of 15 attempts (53.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Blue Devils finished the game shooting 31 out of 60 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.7%. The Blue Devils allowed the Fighting Irish to make 23 out of their 49 attempts from the field which had them shooting 46.9% for this game. They shot 42.9% from downtown by going 9 out of 21 and finished the contest at 10 out of 11 at the free throw line (90.9%). When it comes to cleaning the glass, Duke allowed Notre Dame to snag 23 in all (3 on the offensive glass).

Matthew Hurt was important for the Blue Devils in the game. He knocked down 8 out of 17 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 47.1%, which had him sitting at 18 points. Hurt pulled down 5 rebounds in his 38 minutes and had 3 assists for this contest. An additional guy who was a determining factor for Duke was Jeremy Roach. He scored 14 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood by way of 5 of 6 from the floor for the game. Roach ended up shooting 83.3% from the floor while also totaling 2 dimes and 2 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+10.5)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here