NCAA Basketball Odds: Carolina and Duke Renew Hoops’ Best Rivalry

Coach K's team has lost four in a row at home to rival UNC. (AP Images)

The North Carolina Tar Heels have been an epic disappointment this season and are headed for the NIT barring a miracle run in the ACC Tournament. But don’t you think the young Heels would cherish stopping archrival Duke from winning the ACC regular-season title? That’s what is on the line Saturday night in Durham, with the Blue Devils opening as 14.5-point favorites on Bodog’s NCAA basketball odds.

Duke (25-5) was beaten at Maryland on Wednesday night, which dropped the Blue Devils into a first-place tie in the conference with the Terps. Maryland plays Virginia earlier on Saturday, but Duke would claim the top seed in the ACC Tournament if the two finished tied. And it’s Senior Night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, which should make the Cameron Crazies even crazier. That means the final home game for star guard Jon Scheyer, among a few others, and his class has yet to beat the Heels at home, with Carolina having won four in a row in Durham. Duke has yet to taste defeat at home this season (10-4-1 ATS) and has won every game but one by double digits.

North Carolina (16-14, 3-6 ATS on road) has shown a pulse of late, having beaten Wake Forest and Miami back to back. It’s the Heels’ first consecutive wins since December, but they are only 2-7 on the road. UNC leading scorer Deon Thompson has a back issue, but he will start Saturday night. Duke won the first meeting this season, 64-54, in Chapel   Hill behind 24 points from Scheyer. The Blue Devils shot only 31.9 percent from the field, while Carolina’s 54 points were its fewest in seven seasons under coach Roy Williams. The Heels’ eight assists and 34.5 percent overall shooting were season lows. The underdog has managed to cover in 13 of the past 18 meetings in this series, and the road team has in the past five.

There’s only one place to bet on March Madness: Bodog