Prizing:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Starbucks gift card

Overview:

On Saturday, March 4th, the (23-7) Duke Blue Devils will be on the road to take on the (25-6) North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of North Carolina 77.8 – Duke 73.9 with an over/under of 151.7.

Statistics (2016-17 season):

Point differential: North Carolina 15.0 PPG > Duke 12.0 PPG

Points per game: North Carolina 85.0 PPG > Duke 80.4 PPG

Points allowed per game: Duke 68.4 PPG > North Carolina 70.0 PPG

Field Goal Percentage Offense: Duke 47.4% > North Carolina 47.1%

Field Goal Percentage Defense: North Carolina 41.5% > Duke 43.2%

Three Point Percentage: Duke 37.6% > North Carolina 37.0%

Turnovers per game: Duke 11.6 > North Carolina 12.1

Rebounds per game: North Carolina 44.0 > Duke 37.0

Assists per game: North Carolina 17.9 > Duke 13.6

Summary:

Duke is (8-2) in their last ten games while North Carolina is (7-3).  Duke is (6-3) against ranked opponents this season whereas North Carolina is (5-4).  Each team has three wins against ranked opponents this season.  Duke defeated North Carolina 86-78 at home earlier this season.  North Carolina was outrebounded by Duke in that game 31-30 despite leading the nation in that category (44.0).  Another concern for the Tar Heels was losing by eight to Duke when they only had 5 turnovers.  If North Carolina can’t punish Duke on the glass they won’t win because Duke has more skilled perimeter players.  Statistically these teams are very even so I’m expecting another tightly contested game.  I’m going against “The Crowd” and picking Duke to pull off the road upset.

**LISTEN HERE** to the latest edition of “The Berger Shop” podcast, sponsored by The Crowd’s Line.  This week’s episode features an in-depth discussion about Carmelo Anthony and various other topics with PureWow CEO Ryan Harwood.

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