Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 3/8/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025

Location: Dean E. Smith Center in Tempe, AZ

TV: ESPN+

Dean E. Smith Center is the location where the North Carolina Tar Heels (20-11) will try to beat the Duke Blue Devils (27-3) on Saturday.

The Duke Blue Devils played Wake Forest and walked away with a win by a score of 93-60 in their last game. Duke finished the game having earned a 47.2% FG percentage (34 of 72) and converted 14 of 39 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Blue Devils converted 11 of 13 shots for a rate of 84.6%. With regard to rebounding, they collected 45 with 18 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 19 assists for this contest while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In terms of defense, Duke allowed the other team to go 32.8% from the field on 19 of 58 shooting. Wake Forest distributed 7 assists and had 1 steal in this matchup. Additionally, Wake Forest snagged 31 rebounds (10 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Wake Forest finished the contest at 80.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of 20 tries. They knocked down 6 out of their 16 attempts from beyond the arc. With respect to personal fouls, the Blue Devils ended up finishing with 19 while Wake Forest accumulated 15 personal fouls.

Cooper Flagg is a player who was a factor for the matchup. He finished the contest at 62.5% from the floor and distributed 7 dimes. He was on the court for 34 mins and also collected 8 boards. He totaled 28 points on 10 out of 16 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Tonight

Duke steps onto the court with a mark of 27-3 for the season. They average 83.5 points per game (13th in the country) while going 48.9% from the field. The Blue Devils are connecting on 38.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (313 of 814) and 78.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Duke is pulling down 38.9 rebounds per game and has racked up 518 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 14th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 9.4 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.1 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Blue Devils are forcing their opponents into 12.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.5 fouls. They give up 30.7% on 3-pointers while they are 6th in college hoops in points per game allowed (61.1). The Blue Devils defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 38.2% (657 of 1,720) and they concede 30.4 boards per game as a team. They rank 44th in college in allowing assists to their opponents with 344 relinquished this year.

In their last game, the North Carolina Tar Heels walked away with a victory by a final of 91-59 against Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels were able to snag 30 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 36 in the matchup. They also turned the ball over 13 times, while earning 10 steals for the matchup. Virginia Tech committed 11 personal fouls for the contest which took the Tar Heels to the free throw line for a total of 12 tries. They were able to make 10 of the free throw tries for a rate of 83.3%. Regarding 3-point attempts, North Carolina knocked down 15 of 28 attempts (53.6%). In all, the Tar Heels ended up shooting 33 for 56 from the field which gave them a percentage of 58.9%. The Tar Heels allowed Virginia Tech to make 22 out of their 58 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 37.9% in this game. They wrapped up this game 33.3% from distance by going 7 of 21 and ended up going 8 out of 15 from the free throw line (53.3%). When talking about rebounding, North Carolina permitted Virginia Tech to grab 24 in all (7 offensive).

Ian Jackson ended up being a major contributor for the Tar Heels in this contest. He buried 6 of 10 for this game giving him a rate of 60.0%, and had 2 rebounds. He had 19 points in his 26 minutes on the court and added 2 assists for this game.

North Carolina has a record of 20-11 so far this season. As an offense, the Tar Heels are shooting 48.3% from the floor, which is ranked 30th in college. North Carolina has scored 2,544 pts this year (82.1 per game) and they average 36.7 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 14.9 times per game (96th in Division 1) and they turn it over 10.9 times per contest. The Tar Heels are responsible for committing 16.9 fouls every game and they connect on 73.7% from the free throw line.

The North Carolina defense allows 34.2% on shots from distance (252 of 736) and opponents are making 75.3% of their foul shots. They allow 13.0 dimes and 33.4 boards per contest, ranking them 171st and 127th in D-1. The Tar Heels on the defensive side of the court are 296th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 75.9. They are forcing 10.8 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.3% from the floor (156th in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA 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