Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Vegas Play of the Day: Duke at Wisconsin

Duke vs. Mercer

Gerry Broome / AP

Duke forward Amile Jefferson (21) shoots against a Mercer defense during the first half of an NCAA college basketball second-round game, Friday, March 21, 2014, in Raleigh, N.C.

The crown jewel of the annual ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge is unearthed tonight.

Like the rest of the sports world, the Play of the Day — which uses odds from the South Point and began with $10,000 bankrolls — is focused on Wisconsin at Duke.

Duke plus-3 at Wisconsin: $330 to win $300

I’m already on record with how much I like Duke this year. I’m on the lookout for spots to bet the Blue Devils early in the season.

And here’s a great opportunity. I would have made this line Wisconsin minus-1.5 on the high side, so there’s immediate value.

Looking closer only improves the case for Duke. Wisconsin is returning from a trip to the Bahamas where it captured the Battle 4 Atlantis title by playing extremely well in two out of three games.

The one merely average showing came against Georgetown in the semifinals where Wisconsin narrowly prevailed 68-65 but failed to cover the 8.5-point spread. It was the Badgers’ only loss against the spread all season, and not coincidentally, their only game against a team ranked in the top 70 nationally in offensive efficiency.

Duke is No. 1 in the category, which should create major problems against a team that isn’t especially stout on the defensive end. While Wisconsin entangled itself with a couple battles on the islands, Duke was back on the mainland bombing overmatched Furman and Army.

Mike Krzyzewski was probably looking ahead and getting his team ready for this top-five showdown at the same time.

I don’t foresee many chances, if any, in the future where Duke is available at this high of a price. I’ll take it now.

Standings: Standings: Bern (58-48-1, $12,686), Keefer (50-58-1, $7,401), Brewer (48-56-3, $3,555)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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