No. 2 seeded Blue Devils and No. 15 seeded Trojans will meet in Greenville in the first round of NCAA tournament East region bracket. Duke is coming off from an ACC Championship win over Notre Dame, 75-69, while the Trojans are coming off from a Sun Belt Championship victory over Texas State, 59-53. Game tip-off is scheduled for Friday, 07:20 PM ET.
Place: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Date/Time: Friday, March 17th, 2017 07:20 PM ET
TV Coverage: TBS
#2 Duke Blue Devils vs. #15 Troy Trojans
Line: Duke Blue Devils -20 (-106)
Total: 154 points (-105 over; -103 under)
The Blue Devils became the first team in ACC to win four games in four days to claim the Championship
The Duke Blue Devils ended the regular season schedule with three losses in four games but then showed one of the best performances in program history during the conference Tournament. They started the ACC Tournament ranked fifth with 11-7 record (27-8 overall). Blue Devils defeated Clemson in second round, then Louisville in quarterfinal, North Carolina in semifinal and Notre Dame in the Championship game. Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski is leading the school in the Big Dance for record-breaking 33rd time. This is also 28th time the program received a top-three seed since 1985 (NCAA best). Jayson Tatum led the team against the Fighting Irish with 19 points and eight rebounds. Luke Kennard scored 16 and Amile Jefferson added 14. Allen Grayson contributed from the bench with 10 points and a team-high four assists.
Sophomore guard Luke Kennard leads the team this season with 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Four more players are averaging double-figures in scoring as Jayson Tatum gets 16.9, Grayson Allen gets, 14.1 and Amile Jefferson averages 10.9. Jefferson leads the team in rebounding with 8.2 while Allen tops the passing aspect with 3.5 assists in average. Frank Jackson concludes the double-digits scoring list with 10.7 points per contest.
The Trojans enter the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history
The Troy Trojans have passed the similar path like Blue Devils before entering the Big Dance but received the No. 15 seed in the east region bracket. They finished the regular season schedule in a sixth place in the conference owning a 10-8 record (22-14 overall) but then like Duke, won four games in four days to become the Sun Belt conference Champions. First opponent in the conference tournament was Appalachian State, then Georgia Southern in quarterfinal and finally Georgia State in semifinal and Texas State in the Championship game. The Trojans stormed the tournament led by Wesley Person who was named the Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player (87 points in four games) and Jordon Varnado who has been named to all-tournament team (76 points in four games). Varnado led the team against the Bobcats with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Person added 16 points. Jeremy Hollimon also made a big impact with 15 points from the bench.
Jordon Varnado leads the team this season in scoring with 16.5 and rebounds per game with 7.1. Person ranks second with 14.8 while Hollimon adds 12.1 on the third place. Team’s leading passer is Kevin Baker with 3.1 assists per match.
Duke Blue Devils vs. Troy Trojans Game Trends & Prediction
The Duke Blue Devils are 15-18 ATS overall, 9-12 at home and 6-6 away. They are 14-16 against the Over/Under, 7-13 at home and 7-3 away. The Blue Devils are 5-4-1 ATS and 6-4 against the Over/Under in their last 10 overall games. They are 4-0 ATS and 3-1 against the Over/Under in conference tournament.
On the other side, the Trojans are 18-10 against the Over/Under, 9-4 at home and 9-6 away. They are 20-12 ATS overall, 8-6 at home and 12-6 away. The Trojans are 7-3 ATS and 3-7 against the Over/Under in their last 10 overall games. They are also 4-0 ATS and 1-3 against Over/Under in conference tournament play.
The Blue Devils score 80.7 ppg and allow 69.8 ppg this season while the Trojans score 78.4 ppg and allow 69.6 ppg.
The Blue Devils will be without Chase Jeter who is out indefinitely with Back injury and Sean Obi who is out for the season with a Knee injury. The Trojans have entire roster available
This will be the first meeting between these two teams ever. Both squads are on the uprising but I will give the advantage to the Blue Devils because of their ACC background. However, my safe bet would be to go with the over as the Blue Devils can flat out play great offensive game.
My Pick: Duke Blue Devils
Total: Over 154 points
