Duke Blue Devils basketball opens up their 2024-25 season today as the seventh-ranked team in the nation. They are taking on the Maine Black Bears, a team that is projected to be a mid-tier America East Conference program this season. So on one side, you have the home team, which features the projected 2025 NBA Draft #1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. You have a team with the best recruiting class in the nation, featuring Flagg, as well as players like Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. Then you have the away team, one that is just hoping to keep its head above water. So while it's an extremely high probability of a Blue Devils victory, the question is: can they win by 31+ and cover the spread? Or can they score enough points to go over 136.5?
Maine & Duke Historical Data
Let’s take a quick look at this Maine team a year ago. They may have been just 15-17 overall in the 2023-24 season, but they were a betting darling in two departments. The Black Bears were 18-12 against the spread, which means they covered in 60% of their games. This largely had to do with the fact that they also played a lot of low-scoring games. They either went under or pushed in 20 of their 30 games last season as well. So what can they do to slow down Duke tonight?
The answer to that question is not highly likely to happen. When you have so much top-notch talent, it's hard to envision this team keeping those players in check. In fact, the only other time these two teams met was in 2016. That team featured future NBA players Jayson Tatum, Luke Kennard, Grayson Allen, and Harry Giles. Duke won 94-55, so it's not outside the realm of possibility for Duke to cover this steep of a number. It's a similar makeup of that Duke team compared to the 2024-25 version of the Blue Devils.
Our Expert Advice For Duke vs. Maine
If I were a betting man on a game like this, I would bet the Blue Devils team total. This spread on the game was at -28.5 yesterday, and as we write this article now, that line has moved to -31. So even if Duke scores 85+, they have to be locked in on the defensive end from start to finish. What Duke does really well in the early season is score points. If you look at their 2023-24 season, in these massive spread spots, Duke scored 85+ in five of their eight games. With the team total at 83.5 and -120 odds, depending on your sportsbook, I think that is the spot you pick.
Cameron Indoor will be rocking with all the hype around Flagg and this team. This means that for the 43rd straight time, you can expect Duke to open with a win. Coach Scheyer, coming off an Elite Eight appearance last year, should have this team ready to go and hopefully scoring tons of points as well.