Duke Blue Devils vs Virginia Tech Hokies Prediction, 1/12/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Duke Blue Devils vs Virginia Tech Hokies

Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Location: Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, VA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Duke (+2)

Cassell Coliseum is the site where and the Virginia Tech Hokies (9-2) will take on the Duke Blue Devils (5-2) on Tuesday. Duke opens this game as 2-point underdogs. The O/U has been set at 141.5.

Duke heads into this matchup with a mark of 5-2 for the season. They are giving up possession 14.3 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.6 fouls per game. As a unit, Duke is pulling in 37.9 rebounds per game and has earned 103 assists this season, which ranks 255th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Blue Devils are shooting 35.2% on shots from 3-point land (57 of 162) and 67.3% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 75.9 points per outing (112th in college hoops) while going 46.2% from the field. Defensively, the Blue Devils are forcing 15.6 turnovers every game and they draw 15.9 personal fouls. They are ranked 42nd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 77 relinquished for the season. The Blue Devils defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 45.9% (179 of 390) and they relinquish 31.9 boards per contest as a squad. They concede 37.1% on shots from distance and they are 199th in college basketball in points per game allowed (71.1).

The Duke Blue Devils stepped onto the hardwood against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and walked away with a win by a score of 79-68 in their last game. Duke ended having earned a 50.8% FG percentage (31 out of 61) and knocked down 9 out of their 27 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Blue Devils converted 8 of 10 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. When it comes to pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 33 with 14 of them being offensive. They also distributed 17 assists in this game while getting 10 steals and 4 rejections. In regard to defense, Duke let their opponent shoot 50.8% from the field on 31 of 61 shooting. Wake Forest recorded 8 assists and had 7 steals for the game. In addition, the Demon Deacons snagged 23 boards (6 offensive, 17 defensive) and earned 4 blocked shots. Wake Forest ended up shooting 85.7% from the charity stripe by knocking down 18 of 21 tries. They also converted 6 of 20 shots from distance.

Matthew Hurt is one player who was a contributor for this game. He accounted for 26 points on 10 of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 31 mins played and also snagged 6 rebounds. Hurt ended up going 66.7% from the floor and distributed 2 assists. Someone else that was a contributor in the game for the Blue Devils was DJ Steward. He grabbed 6 rebounds and accounted for 2 dimes. He finished the game shooting 53.3% from the floor for this contest by going 8-of-15 (21 points). When all was said and done, Steward was on the hardwood for 39 min.

Virginia Tech has a record of 9-2 for the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Hokies are shooting 45.4% from the floor, which ranks 144th in the nation. Virginia Tech has accounted for 828 pts on the year (75.3 per game) and they average 36.3 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 12.9 times per game (211th in college basketball) and they turn it over 12.2 times per game. The Hokies are responsible for committing 16.6 personal fouls per game and they hit 71.0% from the free throw line. The Hokies are ranked 66th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 64.9. The Virginia Tech defense surrenders 33.8% on 3-pointers (78 of 231) and their opponents are connecting on 68.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 10.9 dimes and 30.5 boards per contest, which has them ranked 55th and 30th in those defensive categories. They are forcing their opponents into 12.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.3% from the floor (148th in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Virginia Tech Hokies took home the win by a final score of 77-63 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Hokies were able to pull down 25 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive boards totaling 38 in this contest. They turned away 2 shots while recording 6 steals for the matchup. The Fighting Irish had 15 personal fouls for this contest which took the Hokies to the free throw line for 16 shots. They were able to convert 12 of the free throw tries for a rate of 75.0%. When it comes to shots from beyond the arc, Virginia Tech knocked down 7 of their 23 attempts (30.4%). When the final whistle was blown, the Hokies walked away from this one shooting 29 for 64 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.3%. The Hokies permitted the Fighting Irish to convert 18 of 48 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 37.5% for this game. They shot 26.1% from behind the 3-point line by going 6 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 21 of 26 from the charity stripe (80.8%). When it comes to how they attacked the glass, Virginia Tech permitted Notre Dame to snag 24 overall (6 on the offensive side).

Jalen Cone pitched in for the Hokies for the game. He made 5 of 12 for the game for a field goal percentage of 41.7%, which earned him 18 points. Cone snagged 2 rebounds in his 24 mins and earned 2 dimes for this game. Someone else that ended up playing a role for Virginia Tech was Keve Aluma. He ended up scoring 15 points in his 34 minutes on the court by way of 5 of 9 from the floor for the matchup. Aluma wrapped this one up going 55.6% from the field and also totaling 2 assists and 12 rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Virginia Tech (-2)

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