Gerry Broome / AP
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014 | 2 a.m.
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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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