After BYU and Florida begin play, No. 1 Duke (32-4) and No. 5 Arizona (29-7) get underway to round off the West Regional. The line has defending national champions Duke as an 8.5-favorite.
Duke had no qualms with Hampton in its opener but barely escaped Michigan 73-71 on Sunday. The matchup with Michigan was a rematch of the 1991 NCAA Tournament final and had all the same excitement. This is the 22nd trip to the Sweet 16 for Duke. Only North Carolina has more Sweet 16 appearances with 24. Though they were inconsistent at times during the regular season, the Blue Devils beat North Carolina for the ACC Tournament Championship and have all the right pieces this year. NCAA National Player of the Year finalist Nolan Smith led them with 24 points over Michigan and fellow senior Kyle Singler added 13.
Arizona had a tough road to get here. A 77-75 win over Memphis in its opener was followed up by a 70-69 win over Texas. The Wildcats are led by Pac-10 Player of the Year Derrick Wiliams, who has come up big on defense in the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 19 points and eight rebounds per game during the regular season. Arizona is searching for its second national championship after winning it in 1997. The Wildcats were 25th in the country in scoring at 76.5 points per game and shot 47.5% from the field.
Arizona is 18-15-1 ATS and hit the under on half of its games. The Wildcats have covered in just one of six games against ACC opponents but are 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games. Duke is 20-15 ATS and hit the under in 19 of 35 games. The Blue Devils covered in each of their last five games against the Pac 10. They didn’t cover the spread against Michigan and are 17-8 ATS in the last 25 games when coming off a point spread loss. The last time these two teams met was the 2001 National Championship where Duke won 82-72 as four-point underdogs.
Duke vs. Arizona (odds provided by Ladbrokes)
Duke: 1/5
Arizona: 7/2
Point Spread: Duke -8.5
Over/Under: 144.5
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