The Baylor Bears (18-15) travel to face off against the Duke Blue Devils (32-3) on Sunday, March 23rd. This game will be played at Lenovo Center in Raleigh and televised on None. Duke is coming off a win in their previous game, while Baylor is looking to get back on track from a loss to the Texas Tech. Tip-off is set for 2:40 ET.

Baylor Bears vs Duke Blue Devils

The Bears Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Baylor Bears Recent Game/Games

Baylor’s season record dropped to 18-15 after a narrow 76-74 loss to Texas Tech on Thursday. The Bears, who were +6.5 point underdogs, managed to cover the spread in the loss.

After trailing 52-39 at halftime, Baylor tightened up defensively in the 2nd half, holding Texas Tech to 24 points while scoring 35. The total points for the game hit 150, surpassing the O/U line of 141.5.

The Blue Devils Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Duke improved to 32-3 on the season with a 73-62 win over Louisville on Saturday, March 15th. The Blue Devils were favored by six points and covered the spread with the 11-point victory. The total points for the game were 135, falling short of the 148.5 O/U line.

Duke trailed 38-33 at halftime but turned things around in the second half, outscoring Louisville 40-24. Their strong defensive effort in the final 20 minutes was key to the win.

Bears Offense Breakdown

Baylor’s offense put up 74 points in their last game, shooting 45% from the field. Their effective field goal percentage was 48.3%, with struggles from beyond the arc, hitting just 4 of 16 threes for 25%. They were solid from the free-throw line, making 16 of 19 attempts for 84.2%.

Norchad Omier led the way with 29 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 66.7% from the field. JT Toppin added 26 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 2 of 3 from deep. Elijah Hawkins contributed 12 points and 11 assists, connecting on 3 of 6 threes.

Blue Devils Offense Breakdown

Duke’s offense put up 73 points in their last game, shooting 44% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 54%. They connected on 10 of 27 three-point attempts, shooting 37% from deep, and went 19 for 24 from the free-throw line, hitting 79.2% of their foul shots.

Terrence Edwards Jr. led the way with 29 points, hitting 5 of 12 threes, while Tyrese Proctor added 19 points, also going 6 for 14 from beyond the arc. Kon Knueppel contributed 18 points, despite missing all 5 of his three-point attempts, and grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds.

Bears Team Defense

Despite Baylor’s defensive efforts, they allowed 76 points in their previous game. The Bears held their opponent to 39% shooting overall, with 25 made field goals on 64 attempts.

Baylor was effective inside, limiting their opponent to 33% shooting on two-pointers (10/30). However, they struggled to defend the three-point line, where their opponent shot 44%, hitting 15 of 34 attempts. Baylor also sent their opponent to the free-throw line 16 times, where they made 11 free throws (68%).

Blue Devils Team Defense

Despite Baylor’s defensive efforts, they allowed 76 points in this game, with the opposing team shooting 39% from the field on 25 of 64 attempts. Baylor did manage to hold them to just 33% shooting from two-point range, where they went 10 for 30.

However, the Bears struggled to contain the three-point line, as the other team hit 15 of 34 threes, shooting 44% from beyond the arc. Baylor also sent them to the free-throw line 16 times, where they converted 11 attempts for 68%. On the glass, Baylor gave up 17 offensive rebounds.

Bears vs Blue Devils Trends

• When looking at their past three road matchups, Baylor has an ATS record of 2-1 while averaging 70 per game. The team went 2-1 overall in these games.
• Across their last three home contests, Duke has been good against the spread posting a mark of 3-0. Their overall mark in these games was 3-0, while averaging 96 points per game.
• Going back to their previous three games as the underdog, Baylor has an ATS mark of 3-0 while going 1-2 straight up.
• Looking back on the team’s last ten games as the favorite, the Blue Devils have a straight up record of 10-0. Their record vs the spread in these games was 8-2.

Bears vs Blue Devils Prediction

In this Blue Devils vs. Blue Devils matchup, our point-spread bet is on the Blue Devils at -11.5. While we project the Blue Devils to win 77-70, our recommendation is to bet on the Bears for the point-spread.

Right now, the over/under line for the game is sitting at 143.5 and given that our model is projecting 147 points between the teams, we like the over.

All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.