by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Jan 30, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC
Where to watch: ESPN
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Duke -9; Duke -425, WF +340
FanDuel: Duke -9.5; Duke -465, WF +350
BetMGM: Duke -9.5
Caesars: Duke -9
Season record
Wake Forest: 14-8 (6-5 ACC)
Duke: 15-6 (6-4 ACC)
We’re nearing the halfway mark of the college basketball season and it’s been quite the ride so far. Will Rogers is going hard in the last 30 days with a 16-10-1 run, while Kyle Hunter has also had a strong run of form as of late at 28-24-0 (+$1,700). If they’ve been killing it as much as they were in the first half, what does the second half have in store? The only way you’re going to find out is by staying locked on bigal.com and following what our champion handicappers are up to heading into the second half. Trust us, you want to know.
Wake Forest - Duke preview, prediction and analysis
Recent form
Wake Forest: lost 79-77 vs. NC State
Duke: won 86-43 at Georgia Tech
The Duke Blue Devils will attempt to string a win streak together on Tuesday when they return to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Durham.
The Duke Blue Devils will attempt to string a win streak together on Tuesday when they return to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Durham.
Since Duke’s 10-2 start, they’ve only gone 5-4 in their last nine with no real look of consistency. The Blue Devils have alternated wins and losses in their last six games and are coming off doubling up the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 86-43 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta on Saturday.
Kyle Filipowski led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Jeremy Roach chipped in with 12 points. Tyrese Proctor had eight assists, as the Blue Devils shot 55.7 percent from the field and won by only shooting 15 free throws. It helped because Georgia Tech went to the line just six times and shot 30.9 percent from the floor.
No, this is not the same Duke at the current moment with Mike Krzyzewski. Clearly, there’s a serious rebuild here, but the Blue Devils are still playing very well and have such a good record that such things can lead to tournament appearances in March. Are they the favorite right now? No, considering how stacked the ACC is right now. But never count this team out, no matter who the coach is.
Wake Forest is coming into this game losers of three straight with the most recent being a 79-77 loss to North Carolina State at home on Saturday, their second consecutive two-point loss. The Demon Deacons lost 81-79 at Pittsburgh three days prior.
Damari Monsanto finished with 22 points, and Andrew Carr had 14 for Wake Forest, as the Deacons blew a 6-point halftime lead and were outscored 48-40 in the second half for the loss. Wake Forest shot 43.3 percent from the floor and made just 7 of 21 from 3-point range.
The Demon Deacons have been a good spread team over the last 10 games, going 7-3 ATS but two of those losses have come in the last three games; Wake Forest was favored by 3 against NC State, and they were getting 3 points against Virginia, a top-10 team, in which they lost 76-67.
Duke, in their myriad of inconsistency, covered as 9.5-point favorites against Georgia Tech, the first time they covered since laying 17 against Florida State on New Year’s Eve. Duke failed to cover in the next five and is just 2-8 ATS in the last 10.
Prediction
This shouldn’t be that much of a challenge for Duke. Home court is always a near-lock when you’re dealing with Duke, and this is the kind of situation where you know they’re going to be a heavy favorite, even though you have to take the inconsistencies into consideration. Duke 86, Wake Forest 70
Betting trends
Wake Forest is 30-21 ATS against conference opponents the last 3 seasons.
Wake Forest is 15-12 ATS off a conference loss the last 3 seasons.
Duke is 4-14 ATS when playing a second game in 3 days the last 3 seasons.
Duke is 22-32 ATS against conference opponents the last 3 seasons.
Projected starting lineup
Wake Forest:
PG: Tyree Appleby
SG: Cameron Hildreth
SF: Damari Mosanto
PF: Andrew Carr
C: Matthew Marsh
Duke:
PG: Tyrese Proctor
SG: Dariq Whitehead
SF: Mark Mitchell Jr.
PF: Ryan Young
C: Kyle Filipowski
Statistical leaders
Wake Forest:
Points: Tyree Appleby -- 17.7
Rebounds: Andrew Carr -- 6.4
Assists: Tyree Appleby -- 6.1
Duke:
Points: Kyle Filipowski -- 15.7
Rebounds: Kyle Filipowski -- 9.4
Assists: Jeremy Roach -- 3.2
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Wake Forest Demon Deacons - Duke Blue Devils prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NBA/college basketball projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
