Betting Odds, Money Line, Spread, Under/Over

*All lines are taken from Draft Kings*

Money Line

Duke: -265
Oral Roberts: +225

Over/Under: 146

Over: -110
Under: -110

Spread:

Duke: -6 (-115)
Oral Roberts: + 6 (-115)

Regular Season Recap

Duke

The Duke Blue Devils are without their head coach of 42 years, Mike Krzyzewski. This season was a big test for the Blue Devils, who played under first year head coach, Jon Scheyer. Scheyer was previously an assistant to Coach K from 2014-2022 and is familiar with the system and school. Duke has FIVE National Championships in school history, and is under pressure to continue the winning tradition with a new head coach. Duke has a similar record last year, and lost to UNC 81-77 in the final four. Before New Years Day, Dukes record was 11-3. Since the start of 2023, the Blue Devils finished with a second half record of 10-2, and won their last 9 games in a row. Duke had loses to high ranked teams, such as Kansas (69-64), Purdue (75-56), Miami (81-59), and Virginia (69-92 in OT). They redeemed themselves in the second half of the season, with wins against Virginia, Miami, and OSU. Lead by Freshman Center Kyle Filipowski, and Junior Guard Jeremy Roach, Duke had the 15th hardest strength in schedule, according to CBS. Duke is 4-4 against Top 25 teams this season. Duke has tournament experience, and this will be their 26th NCAA Tournament appearance in 27th Tournaments. Duke may average only 72 points, however, they are extremely efficient on the defensive end, especially in rebounding. Duke is hot at the right time and could make it far in this year’s tournament.

Oral Roberts

Could Oral Roberts be the Cinderella team we are all waiting for this season? We all remember St. Peters last year, and Oral Roberts could be THAT team. Last season, the Golden Eagles did not make it into the tourney, and this team is proving their NCAA tournament Regional Semifinal loss in 2021 was NOT an upset. According to ESPN, at least one No. 12 seed has won against a No. 5 Seed in 32 of the last 37 tournaments. In this case, it could absolutely be Oral Roberts. This team has far impressed this season, landing in the top 5 in points differential, and Blocks. Although the Golden Eagles were blown out by Houston 83-45 week 3, they did not have a single loss in their conference. To be fair, Oral Roberts had the 179th strength in schedule, and plays in a weak Summit division. Only South Dakota State and North Dakota State were the only other teams in the conference above .500. Oral Roberts doesn’t have as much experience as Duke against top 25 teams, going 0-1 this season. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 17-game win streak, and it is certainly hard to ignore that. This is a team that’s very efficient on both sides of the ball, can shoot well and thanks to their star Max Abmas and Connor Vanover, this team has offensive and defensive talents. Shout out to head coach Paul Mills, who led the Golden Eagles to their FIRST ever 30th win season.

Injury Report

Duke

None
Oral Roberts
None

Key Players

Duke

Freshman Center Kyle Filipowski has been a pleasant surprise this season. Duke has become one of the best rebounding teams, thanks for Kyle. The center is always there for offensive rebounding, especially when Duke misses mid-range and 3-point shots. He provides that interior defense that is often a factor in these tournaments. He’s leading the team in points with 15.4 and rebounds with 9, nearly averaging a double-double. He can occasionally shoot 3’s when necessary. Kyle can also score inside the paint and make quality passes. The 7- footer was elite against Virginia for the ACC Championship. He finished the night with a double-double, which was #15 on the year for the Freshman.

Junior Jeremy Roach has been another staple of this team, averaging 13.3 points per game. He is not the biggest 3-point threat, averaging 34.1 percent from the arc. Roach has a solid free throw percentage, and shot 42 percent from field goal range this year. In the ACC Championship against Duke, Roach contributed 23 points on 7-12, and was 2-2 from the 3-point line.

Oral Roberts

Senior guard Max Abmas has been the star of this team. Not only did he shoot 44 percent from the field goal range this season, he is 7th in the nation in points per game with 22.2. He averages 4-5 rebounds a game, along with 4 assists. His 3-point percentage has been down from previous years, however, he knows how to get to the free throw line, and make quick buckets. In their last game over NDSU, he contributed 26 points on 7-15, and was 9-10 from the line. However, he was cold from beyond the arc, shooting 37.5 %. In their only game against Houston, he did struggle, shooting 1-13, 1-9 from the 3-point, with 3 points.

Senior Center Connor Vanover, has been a solid interior presence for the Golden Eagles. Oral Roberts is top five in blocks overall, and Vanover is the conference defensive player of the year. He has had more than 100 blocked shots at 7 foot 5.

Key Stats

? Duke is averaging 72.5 points per game, while Oral Roberts is averaging 84.2 points per game.

? Duke ranks 33rd in points allowed with 63.9 opponents per game.

? Duke ranks 21st in rebounds per game with 38.7.

? Duke ranks 33rd in point differential at +8.5

? Duke is ranked 39th in blocked shots with 4.5 per game

? Oral Roberts is ranked #5 in Points Differential at +14.1, and Blocks per game at 5.4.

? Oral Roberts ranks third in points per game with 84.2.

? Oral Roberts ranks 24th in field goal % at 47.9 %

? Duke Averages 33.6 % from the 3-point, while Oral Roberts averages 36.9 beyond the arc.

LAST 10 GAMES + GAME PREDICTION

? SPREAD: Oral Roberts +5.5

-Oral Roberts covered the spread in just TWO of their last 10 games.

-Oral Roberts has a 13-16-1 ATS this season

-Oral Roberts covered the spread last against NDSU at -11

-Duke covered the spread in six of their last 10 games. However, the spreads were all close with Virginia at -3.0, and Miami at -2.5

-Duke is a 15-19-0 ATS this season

-Duke is 14-15 as a favorite to cover the spread this season.

? MONEY LINE: Duke

-Duke won the Money Line 9 out of their last 10 games

-Oral Roberts won the Money Line in all 10 of their last games.

-Oral Roberts money line has been over -1000 in 5 out of their last 10 games.

? OVER/UNDER- UNDER

-Duke Avg +/- vs O/U Line: -3.91

-Duke Overall O/U Record: 13-20-1

-Duke 5-5 against O/U last 10 games.

-Oral Roberts hit the UNDER 8 of their last 10 games.

-Oral Roberts O/U Record: 13-17-0

-Oral Roberts Avg +/- vs O/U Line: -1.33

For More Betting Info & Game Predictions, Follow us at @BallislifeBets

Sara Jane is a full-time content creator, focusing on both college basketball, the NBA, NFL, and writer of www.ebooksnet.com. Don’t forget to follow her on Twitter: @GGirlSports

The post Oral Roberts V. Duke: Betting Odds|NCAA Tournament Round of 64 appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

On Episode 89 of our In The Paint Show, co-hosts Ronnie Flores and Devin Ugland discuss a variety of basketball topics from the NBA's quick offseason, free agency winners and losers, which rookies will make an immediate impact and which teams have the biggest advantage heading into the 2020-2021 season.

Hit the PLAY button below to tune in!

Ron and Dev also breakdown the Houston Rockets situation with James Harden. Should Houston try to move Harden before the season starts? Where does one of the best offensive players the game has ever seen fit best? What should the Rockets expect to get in return for their disgruntled superstar?

Andre Curbelo

6'0"   -   PG   -   2020

The guys also discuss the early themes and surprises of the college basketball season. Why are the "Blue Blood" programs like Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina struggling? Has the balance of power evened out this season among college hoops teams? Which college freshmen have stood out the most? Finally, Ron and Dev break down what the high school sports scene looks like across the country.

The post In The Paint Show: NBA Season Fast Approaching, College Blue Bloods Struggling, HSBB Update! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Ballislife co-owner Matt Rodriguez closes out the show with a look at how sports social media has changed during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Matt also details BIL's mask initiative which donates 25 percent of mask sales, and 10 percent of spring collection sales, to World Central Kitchen.

If you want all the answers to those questions and more, make sure to hit the play button above to listen in to the latest episode of the In The Paint Show!

The post In The Paint: NCAA moves closer to Name, Image and Likeness, more on Last Dance! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

RELATED: Past, Present & Future of FAB 50

There were concerns in the scholastic ranks regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) over a week and a half go and the plight of the FAB 50 ranked Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.) basketball team brought the public health issue to the attention of high school basketball players and coaches nationwide. Sheldon was able to play in its California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) NorCal Open Division semifinal contest after being re-instated into the tournament following its removal by the Elk Grove Unified School District, but by that time FAB 50 No. 34 Sheldon and the rest of the remaining field had a feeling it was a race against the clock. Sheldon won its regional semifinal contest, and on the same night FAB 50 No. 17 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) recorded a hard-to-believe 63-61 comeback win over No. 22 Etiwanda (Calif.) to win the SoCal Open championship. Because Sheldon’s game on Saturday was postponed until Tuesday, the NorCal and SoCal regionals were not on the same schedule.

Crazy the plight of Sheldon to get to NorCal Regional Final, as its season comes to an end w/a "W" 1 game short of its ultimate goal. It's crazy how much changed in 24 hours around sports since this aired on #Emerge (@aminajadeTV). Season over for Huskies, O'Dowd & Sierra Canyon. pic.twitter.com/q4pDFkNxQJ

— www.ebooksnet.com (@Ballislife) March 12, 2020

The "race against the clock” for state associations was full bore on Wednesday, but by the time it was announced on Wednesday NBA player Rudy Gobert had tested positive for Coronavirus, the situation had became a full-blown pandemic. In a span of 24 hours beginning last Wednesday, many professional leagues shut down operations and college conferences called off their season-ending tournaments before NCAA selection Sunday. Eventually the entire NCAA tournament was cancelled for 2020 and many state associations at the high school level followed suit. By Friday, a vast majority of state governing bodies cancelled the remainder of their respective state tournaments.

By then Coronavirus had affected all facets of life. Here’s how it will affect the FAB 50 and the other things Ballislife touches.

FAB 50 Rankings

With no sanctioned games early this upcoming week, we’ll do our next set of rankings by Tuesday, March 17. There is simply no reason to rush it out with no games being played immediately this week. While a vast majority of state governing bodies that still hadn’t completed their state tourneys before last weekend canceled it, a few such as Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Arkansas announced postponements. Four states went ahead and continued with games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and New Mexico crowned state champions over this past weekend. Among ranked teams, No. 31 Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) won its fourth straight state title in dominant fashion, defeating No. 50 St. Augustine (New Orleans, La.) in the D1 title game, 66-39, as Mr. Basketball USA candidate Reece Beekman earned MOP honors after recording a triple-double of 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The state tournament was played in front of a limited number of fans as mandated by the LHSAA.

There will be movement in this week’s rankings, but we’re still not sure it will be the final rankings of the season. On Sunday night the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) held a meeting to determine if its state championships would commence on March 19 and March 20 with only essential personnel in attendance. As of now, the MSHSAA state tournament is still tentatively on, but that could change at any time.

If this latest update is indeed the final rankings, they will look different than if this was just the thirteenth poll of the 2019-20 season. When we do our final rankings, we look at the totality of the season and not just the previous week. Teams are judged, first and foremost, against the team that won the final game of the year, meaning its state champion or top ranked team in that respective state. With many states unable to finish up their state tournament, this year’s final rankings will include analyazing more teams than ever that won its final game of the season. In a quick analysis of the final rankings, some teams will be ranked based more on the round of the state tournament bracket they reached, rather than the totality of the season, because the bracket was never completed. The final rankings will be more greatly influenced on the prior week’s rankings because of the uncertain nature of the results that never took place. There is no projections of what could or might have happened, as on-court results are always the most important factor.

As one West Coast high school coach mentioned, it’s a disappointment that his team couldn’t finish its season on the court (his team reached the state semifinals), but the scenario created a situation where less teams ended its season with a loss. Losses always increases the chances of the losing team dropping in the final rankings. There is always the possibility of upsets in state tournaments (because the competition usually gets better the deeper a team advances in the bracket) and when there is an upset involving a ranked team, that scenario not only can pull up the winning club in the final rankings, but potentially pull up teams it lost to.

We are still not sure if this week’s rankings will be the last.

In addition to the state tournaments that postponed its playoffs, GEICO Nationals postponed its event last week scheduled for Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) April 2-4 after it moved from New York City, which is one of the regions of the country hit hardest by the current pandemic. Event organizers and some of the teams are holding out hope our country’s current situation doesn’t get much worse before it starts getting better. Already we know many spring sports around the country are in peril, as school districts around the country have shut its doors for an indefinite period of time. It was announced Sunday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending no gatherings of 50 or more throughout the United States for the next eight weeks. That means the chances of these state tournaments finishing up and GEICO Nationals taking place just went down a notch. If the season does get completed at a much later date, we'll still come back and do an updated set of rankings to reflect those results.

Post-Season Honors

The good news here is many states competed its season, and a vast majority got over 90 percent of the season completed. So there is enough data to compile our usual post-season honors, namely our annual Elite All-American Team, Underclass All-American team and Mr. Basketball USA. As we mentioned, spring sports around the country will be hit hard, but unlike NCAA athletes, high school basketball players and athletes won’t be able to petition for their year back.

We’ve already began to reach out to coaches to get their season stats and individual numbers, a process that would usually happen a bit later in the season. We'll still have a final Mr. Basketball USA Tracker after we compile some of the statistics of the nation’s best. The nomination process will be more important this season, because some of the nation’s best players and teams had a few less games than they would in a normal season. And it’s not just any games, as a big playoff run or a great championship performance is a great resume builder, especially if its comes in an upset. Already it’s been announced the Jordan Brand Classic and the McDonald’s All-American Game will not be held this year, so our nation’s elite won’t be able to close out their careers enjoying the festivities and opportunities that national all-star games provide. This is important, because a player's evaluation (good or bad) against his peers in a practice setting or a big performance during a national all-star game can help his candidacy or be the factor that puts one candidate over the other. Those particular barometers won’t be available this season. Simply put, there are less measurements we normally would use to evaluate a player’s All-American candidacy this season.

An announcement will be made soon about the status of the Ballislife All-American Game, which was scheduled to take place in Southern California on May 2. Even if the annual event must be cancelled, we’ll still have an announcement of the deserving individuals who were extended an invitation to play.

Grassroots and Recruiting

It’s been announced the Nike EYBL, has cancelled its April stops and the other shoe company-sponsored events (adidas and Under Armour) will follow suit. NCAA officials are now meeting to determine what, if anything, will be implemented with existing April live periods, which include two weekends in 2020. There will be no off-campus NCAA recruiting until at least April 15th. Already many spring leagues have been cancelled or postponed because many college and junior college campus facilities are shut down of all activity for the rest of the month or even into April, along with high school facilities.

EYBL 2020 Update pic.twitter.com/3oFGic50JH

— EliteYouthBasketball (@NikeEYB) March 13, 2020

Independent event operators can operate at their pleasure during dead periods, but with local ordinances in affect with regards to gatherings (sports or otherwise), there will be limited opportunities for non-live period events as well. When restrictions are lifted, one has to think some parents will ease their kids back into the cycle of games in crowded facilities and traveling across the country.

For colleges, the Coronavirus situation is likely to impact the low-major schools the most, as elite players that usually commit to high-major programs are identified earlier and have more options to make a college choice. College coaches already don’t have enough of a sample size in the current structure and recruiting calendar, so any new limitations is likely going to affect the schools that didn’t already have their main targets completely evaluated or schools that typically are more deliberate in their evaluations and get commitments later in the recruiting process.

Coronavirus is going to affect graduating 2020s who needed the spring to give colleges more evaluation time and 2021s that haven’t already been identified. This is unchartered territory for both colleges and recruits. This spring and summer (or whenever the live period actually takes place) is going to be crucial for players to participate in the events that will offer them the best exposure to the level they’ll likely play at in college. More than ever, it will be imperative for parents and coaches to be realistic about the level players are shooting to play at in college and make informed decisions based on whatever recruiting calendar is put in place when our current pandemic dies down.

Ronnie Flores is the National Grassroots Editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

The post How Coronavirus Affects High School Basketball appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Cat attended Hampton High School in Hampton, VA where his jersey was retired in 2016. He won a state title in 2012 and broke Allen Iverson's district scoring record in 2013 before being named a McDonald's All-American.

"... in the winter of 2011, Hampton Roads was buzzing over a new homegrown talent: Hampton High School sophomore Anthony Barber. Known to most simply as ‘Cat’ because of his dizzying quickness and formidable reflexes, the young phenom was making waves in Virginia Beach.
Barber led the Hampton Crabbers to new heights as a junior, boosting the team to a 27-6 record and their first Virginia state championship since 1997. Barber capped his high school career with a total of 2,097 points, making him the all-time leading scorer in Peninsula basketball history."

- via Michael McLamb, Staff Writer TechnicianOnline.com

Not buying what I'm selling? How about Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski? After NC State lost at Duke 88-80, Krzyzewski was quoted saying the following about Barber:

“I mean, that kid is really good, I’m not N.C. State sports promotions here but don’t judge just how good a guy is by the record of his team.”

“He’s responsible for a lot of points for that basketball team. You can figure it out mathematically but also in spacing.”

“He gives them a chance to win every game. … He’s very good.”

Cat will have a big decision this year on whether to stay for his senior year and join probable one-and-done high school phenom, Dennis Smith Jr, or leave and test the NBA/overseas waters. What's certain: Anthony "Cat" Barber has the potential to make some serious money in this game, the only question is... where and when?

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The post Cat Barber is the ACC's Allen Iverson: Shiftiest PG in NCAA? appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.