Virginia at Duke: 2/20/21 College Basketball Picks and Prediction
Photo by Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Duke Blue Devils (9-8) vs Virginia Cavaliers (15-4)
Game Info: Saturday, February 20, 2021 at 8:00 pm (Cameron Indoor Stadium)
Betting Odds: Duke Blue Devils -1 -- Over/Under: 131.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The 7th ranked Virginia Cavaliers will travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on the Duke Blue Devils this Saturday night in College Basketball action.
The 7th ranked Virginia Cavaliers had their 4-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 15-4 on the season after being defeated by the Florida State Seminoles, 81-60, this past Monday night. Virginia had no answers on the defensive end for the Florida State offense on the road and could not fight back after an 17-0 Seminoles run gave Florida State a 68-43 lead with 8:28 left in regulation. Virginia shot 46.8% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc while Florida State shot 50.0% from the field and 54.2% from beyond the arc. Virginia was outrebounded by Florida State by a 31-25 margin and lost the turnover battle by a 13-5 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Cavaliers was Trey Murphy III who had 13 points, 5 rebounds, & 3 assists.
On the season, Virginia is averaging 69.4 ppg on 48.9% shooting from the field. The Cavaliers are averaging 8.9 three-pointers per game on 39.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Virginia has been led by Sam Hauser (14.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.8 apg), Jay Huff (12.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.1 apg), Trey Murphy III (11.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg), & Kihei Clark (9.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 4.6 apg).
Defensively, Virginia is holding their opponents to average 59.9 ppg on 41.3% shooting from the field. The Cavaliers have a rebound margin of 2.3 and a turnover margin of 0.2.
The Duke Blue Devils won their 2nd straight game and improved to 9-8 on the season after defeating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 84-60, this past Wednesday. Duke looked impressive on both ends of the court against Wake Forest and had no trouble picking up the victory after going into halftime with an 45-26 lead. Duke shot 54.1% from the field and 44.0% from beyond the arc while Wake Forest shot 39.2% from the field and 28.0% from beyond the arc. Duke outrebounded Wake Forest by a 37-28 margin and committed just 6 turnovers in the victory. Leading the way for the Blue Devils was Matthew Hurt who had 22 poitns, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, & 1 steal.
On the season, Duke is averaging 76.1 ppg on 46.7% shooting from the field. The Blue Devils are averaging 8.4 three-pointers per game on 35.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Duke has been led by Matthew Hurt (18.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.4 apg), DJ Steward (13.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg), Jalen Johnson (11.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 1.2 bpg), & Jordan Goldwire (6.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.5 spg).
Defensively, Duke is allowing their opponents to average 71.5 ppg on 46.4% shooting from the field. The Blue Devils have a rebound margin of 3.6 and a turnover margin of 0.8.
The Cavaliers are 8-0-1 ATS in their last 9 games following a ATS loss and 31-14-2 ATS in their last 47 road games. The Blue Devils are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games.
It has been a struggle for Duke this season, however, despite just their 9-8 record, the Blue Devils have looked more like the team we expected to see this season with impressive road wins against NC State & Wake Forest. Virginia is a solid team, however, although their offense is better than what we saw last season, the Cavaliers still can be inconsistent on that end of the floor as we saw in their recent loss against Florida State. Duke knows that every game is critical at this point if they want to make it to the NCAA Tournament, and between the fact that the Blue Devils have an offense that should be able to generate points on their home court and that Virginia just hasn’t looked as strong on the road this season, I think Duke continues their strong play and picks up their biggest win of the season in this one. Good Luck!
Brett’s Pick Duke Blue Devils -1
AUTHOR: Brett Nault

Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05