#11 Duke vs. Seattle Betting Analysis
The Duke Blue Devils are once again heading into a bounce back spot after losing 75-72 to Kansas on Tuesday night. Another close loss to a ranked opponent has brought some concerns to the forefront about closing out games for this team. But the next matchup for Duke is not one that fans should be overly concerned about, the 2-4 Seattle Redhawks. So what should you be looking at when placing your wagers on Friday?
Duke vs. Seattle Historical Data
These two programs have never faced off, so providing historical data is a bit tougher to do then other poor teams Duke has faced thus far. That does not mean though that we cannot look at the history of Seattle in the college basketball landscape, as well as how this season's rendition of this team looks on paper.
Seattle has been around for almost eighty years, with the majority of their success coming in the 1950’s and 60’s. They were runner-up in the 1958 NCAA Tournament and had five Sweet Sixteen appearances between 1953-1964. Now, Seattle discontinued their men’s basketball team at the Division I level for a lot of years. Since rejoining in 2008, they have yet to make an NCAA Tournament appearance, but did win the Western Athletic Conference regular season title in 2022.
Only two players from that 2022 team are still with the program, Viktor Rajkovic and Vasja Pandza, neither of which start even now. Seattle sits at 2-4, with wins over UC San Diego and Northwest University. Not only are they just 2-4, but they have covered in just one game so far. They lean a lot on Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe and John Christofilis, their only double-digit scorers. When you look at their team stats, they are not great at any aspect of the game. They are a relatively decent three point shooting and offensive rebounding team, but are not a great defensive group.
When you look at this Duke team, yes they lack the ability to close out close games so far, namely against Kentucky and Kansas. Although they have not had any issues at home, covering in all three games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Their lowest output scoring-wise was 86 points against Wofford. Defensively, they have yet to give up over 65 points at Cameron, so looking at betting totals can be tough.
What We Expect For Duke vs. Seattle On Friday Night
An old adage in the betting world is that you should continue to ride the hot streak until a team proves otherwise. Even with a spread as steep as this one at -26.5, I think you have to look at Duke if you are looking to put some money on it. Last time people called out this Duke team for not closing, they held their opponents to just 35 points. The last time Kon Knueppel had an off-shooting night, he followed it up by shooting 50% from the field (granted on just six shot attempts).
When it comes to teams with such roster turnover, especially young teams, you are going to have some off-nights. Those nights may happen in ACC play, we know they have occurred on a couple of occasions already. But they also have an ability to click and run teams out of the gym. This feels like one of those spots, even with Auburn and Louisville looming immediately after. All I know is that this writer will be tuned in, ready to root on Cooper Flagg and the boys, and hopefully see them move to 5-2 on the season.