Duke vs Louisville Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/8/24

The Duke Blue Devils are visiting the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday, December 8th at the KFC Yum! Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Duke Blue Devils vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction.

Louisville Cardinals Preview

The Louisville Cardinals have a 5-3 record this season and are coming off a 63-86 loss by Ole Miss. The Cardinals are 4-4 against the spread, and 1-7 in over/under, while having a 3-2 home record.

Offensively, Louisville is averaging 77.4 points per game, which ranks 158th in the nation. Defensively, they are allowing 67.1 points per game (90th). The Cardinals shoot with 43.4% from the field (249th), and with 27.3% from beyond the arc (349th). The Cardinals shoot with 70.1% from the free throw line (215th), and are grabbing 39.3 rebounds per game (80th).

Chucky Hepburn leads Louisville in scoring this season, with an average of 15.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and a team-high 4.5 assists, while Reyne Smith adds 12.5 points and 3.1 rebounds.

Duke Blue Devils Preview

The Duke Blue Devils have a 6-2 record this season and are coming off an 84-78 win over Auburn. The Blue Devils are 5-3 against the spread, and 3-5 in over/under, while having a 1-0 road record. 

Offensively, Duke is averaging 81.1 points per game, which ranks 75th in the nation. Defensively, they allow 61 points per game, which is the 16th-best nationally. The Blue Devils shoot with 46.7% from the field (109th), and with 36.6% from beyond the arc (83rd). The Blue Devils shoot with 71.3% from the free-throw line (180th), and are grabbing 40.4 rebounds per game (45th).

Cooper Flagg leads Duke in scoring, with an average of 16.6 points, adding team-highs both in rebounding with 8.8 and in assists made with 4.1 per game. Kon Knueppel adds 12.5 points and 3.9 rebounds.

Why the Louisville Cardinals will win

• Duke has lost each of its last three games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• Louisville has won seven of its last eight Sunday home games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• Louisville has won the first half in three of its last four night games at KFC Yum! Center.

Why the Duke Blue Devils will win

• Louisville has lost each of its last nine night games against AP-ranked opponents.
• Duke has won 13 of its last 14 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Louisville has lost the first half in each of its last nine night games against AP-ranked opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Five of Duke’s last six games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 143 or fewer points.
• Five of Louisville’s last six home games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 140 or fewer points.

Matchup/League Facts

• Louisville ranks 7th among Division 1 teams for three-point field goal attempts per game this season (31.6).
• Louisville ranks 14th among Division 1 teams for opponent assist to turnover ratio this season (0.68).
• Duke ranks 363rd among Division 1 teams for opponent free throw percentage this season (80.0%).
• Duke ranks 9th among Division 1 teams for opponent field goal percentage this season (36.6%).

Duke Blue Devils vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction

Duke has won their last 5 meetings against Louisville, but Louisville is 6-3 against the spread in their last 9 meetings. In their most recent meeting back in February, Duke won 84-59 at home. In this Duke Blue Devils vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction, Duke is coming as -9.5 road favorites. Duke is better both offensively, scoring 6.7 points more than Louisville, and defensively, allowing 6.1 points less. The Blue Devils are winning by an average of 20.1 points this season, while the Cardinals have been struggling with their shooting, as they rank on the bottom half of the nation in field goal percentage and on the bottom-20 in 3-point percentage. The value here lies with the road team, so pick the Duke Blue Devils and lay the points on the road.

Nikos Lagouretos's Pick: Duke Blue Devils -9.5