Duke Blue Devils vs Virginia Tech Hokies Prediction, 1/29/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Duke Blue Devils vs Virginia Tech Hokies

Date: Monday, January 29, 2024

Location: Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, VA

TV: ESPN

The Virginia Tech Hokies (13-7) welcome the Duke Blue Devils (15-4) at Cassell Coliseum on Monday.

The Duke Blue Devils faced Clemson and earned the victory with a final of 72-71 in their last game. Concerning personal fouls, the Blue Devils ended up finishing with 17 and Clemson finished the game with 20 personal fouls. They converted 7 out of their 23 tries from downtown. Clemson finished the game shooting 81.8% at the charity stripe by knocking down 18 of their 22 attempts. Additionally, Clemson snagged 39 rebounds (8 offensive, 31 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Clemson doled out 14 assists and had 3 steals in this contest. Regarding the defense, Duke let their opponent shoot 38.3% from the floor on 23 out of 60 shooting. They also recorded 8 assists for the contest while forcing 9 turnovers and having 7 steals. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 31 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Blue Devils buried 21 of 33 attempts for a percentage of 63.6%. Duke wrapped up the game with a 41.2% FG percentage (21 out of 51) and buried 9 of their 21 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Jared McCain is one guy who played a role in this game. He finished with 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 32 minutes and also pulled down 5 rebounds. He ended up going 66.7% from the floor and distributed 2 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Expert Picks

Duke steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 15-4 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 81.2 points per contest (35th in D-1) while connecting on 47.9% from the field. The Blue Devils are shooting 38.1% on shots from beyond the arc (158 of 415) and 73.7% from the free throw line. As a team, Duke is snagging 35.8 boards per contest and has accumulated 301 assists this season, which ranks 98th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 9.2 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 15.7 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Blue Devils are able to force 12.7 turnovers per game and they draw 17.9 fouls. They rank 111th in D-1 in giving up assists with 240 surrendered for the season. The Blue Devils defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 43.2% (465 of 1,077) and they concede 32.3 rebounds per game as a group. They are conceding 34.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 80th in the nation in opponents PPG (67.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the Virginia Tech Hokies walked away with a victory by a final of 91-67 when they faced Georgia Tech. The Hokies pulled down 27 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 33 in the game. They also gave up possession 7 times, while recording 2 steals in this matchup. Georgia Tech had 16 fouls in this contest which took the Hokies to the charity stripe for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of those for a rate of 88.2%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Virginia Tech knocked down 12 of 27 tries (44.4%). When all was said and done, the Hokies finished 32 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a rate of 55.2%. The Hokies permitted Georgia Tech to bury 25 of their 66 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 37.9% in the matchup. They finished 36.4% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 8 of 22 and finished the game at 9 of 14 at the charity stripe (64.3%). In reference to team rebounding, Virginia Tech permitted Georgia Tech to get 25 in all (11 on the offensive side).

Lynn Kidd ended up being important for the Hokies in this contest. He scored 18 points in his 16 minutes of playing time and accumulated 1 assist in this game. He made 7 out of 9 in this contest giving him a rate of 77.8%, and had 4 rebounds.

Virginia Tech has a win-loss mark of 13-7 on the season. As an offensive unit, the Hokies are shooting 46.6% from the field, which ranks 88th in the country. Virginia Tech has tallied 1,494 points on the campaign (74.7 per contest) and they collect 33.6 rebounds per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.5 times per game (62nd in college basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 12.3 times per game. The Hokies commit 15.9 personal fouls every game and they hit 80.3% from the free throw line.

The Hokies are ranked 99th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 68.2. They are able to force 12.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.3% from the field (180th in D-1). The Virginia Tech defense surrenders 32.3% on shots from beyond the arc (130 of 403) and opponents are converting on 70.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 12.3 dimes and 31.0 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 134th and 19th in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Duke

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