On Saturday afternoon at noon the #20 Duke Blue Devils will be on the road to take on the #18 Louisville Cardinals.  “The Crowd” projects a final score of Duke 75 – Louisville 73.2 with an over/under of 148.2.   The Blue Devils are (19-6) on the season while the Cardinals are also (19-6).  Duke has signature wins over two ranked teams: Louisville and Virginia.  They were defeated by Kentucky and Miami who were both ranked while also losing to unranked Utah, Clemson, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.  Louisville has signature wins over two ranked teams: Pittsburg and North Carolina.  They were defeated by ranked Michigan State, Virginia, and Kentucky while also losing to unranked Notre Dame, Duke, and Clemson.

Scoring Margin: Louisville +17.1 (1st) Duke +12.5 (19th)

Points per game: Duke 83.4 (13th) Louisville 77.9 (71st)

Points allowed per game: Louisville 60.8 (7th) Duke 70.9 (156th)

Field Goal Percentage Offense: Louisville 47.8% (28th) Duke 47.6% (31st)

Three Point Percentage: Duke 39.2% (20th) Louisville 36.5% (89th)

Free Throw Percentage: Duke 72.2% (85th) Louisville 69.3% (187th)

Field Goal Percentage Defense: Louisville 38.1% (8th) Duke 43.8% (203rd)

Turnovers committed per game: Duke 10.2 (12th) Louisville 11.8 (81st)

Turnovers forced per game: Louisville 14.6 (63rd) Duke 11.8 (271st)

Rebounds per game: Louisville 39.8 (40th) Duke 37.6 (110th)

Assists per game: Duke 13.8 (147th) Louisville 13.3 (181st)

Duke, on their home floor, defeated Louisville 72-65 earlier this season.  As is evidenced by the stats, these teams are very evenly matched.  Duke leads in nearly every offensive category while Louisville has the advantage in the defensive categories.  Duke does a great job of taking care of the ball which will help against an excellent Louisville defense.  Duke is (4-1) in their last 5 games while Louisville is just (2-3).  I like Duke to steal a close win on the road.

Note: To be eligible to enter a Crowd’s Line contest you must be over 18 years of age, a resident of the United States/Canada, and submit your score prediction on our prediction tool (blog widget). The winner will be selected according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology.  If more than one entrant has the same winning score the winner will be selected by random drawing.  Only one prize will be awarded per contest and that winner will receive their prize in 5-7 business days.