Duke vs Hampton | Prediction & Pick

Blue Devils path to Final Four begins Friday against Hampton

The good news for the Hampton Pirates basketball team: they won the MEAC Championship tournament and earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The bad news: they draw top-seeded Duke in a second round West Region contest on Friday in Charlotte.

vs.

#1 Duke (30-4, 13-3 ACC) vs. #16 Hampton (24-8, 11-5 MEAC)

Date/Time: Friday, March 18, 3:10 PM ET
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC.
Broadcast: TruTV

Money Line: N/A
Spread: Duke -22 ½
Over/Under: 134 ½

In other words, thanks for coming to our show – we’ve got parting gifts backstage.

Click Here for more FREE EXPERT March Madness Basketball Picks

It’s true that the Pirates were a slot club all season, finishing just one game behind Bethune-Cookman for the regular season title in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They did post an out-of-conference victory against fellow tournament team Boston, and went 24-8 this season.

Still, no 16th seed has ever defeated a No.1 seed in an NCAA Tournament game. This is the third trip to the big dance for the Pirates, and they’re taking on a Duke team that: was ranked No.1 in the country earlier this season, and has been a Top 10 team all season; won the ACC conference tournament title win over North Carolina on Sunday; and is making their 16th consecutive appearance in March Madness.

In fact, Duke has qualified for the tournament in every season since 1984 except one (1995). The Blue Devils, coached by Mike Krzyzewski, have won four national championships to go along with 11 of their 15 all-time trips to the Final Four since 1984. And they are the defending champions.

So why should Hampton even bother to show up? Well their fans will point to 2001, when as a No.15 seed they knocked off Iowa State in the first round. So they know what it is like to have no one believe in their team except themselves.

Hampton will try with all its might to keep the Blue Devils scoring in check, and have the country’s 35th ranked defense with which to attempt this. Darrion Pellum is the club’s leading scorer at 17.7 points per game, and Kwame Morgan II (16.5 PPG) will also need to chip in the offense for the Pirates.

Duke counters with Nolan Smith, the ACC’s leading scorer this season at 21.3 points per contest. Kyle Singler finished second on the team and fifth in the league at 17.1 points per game. Smith also dished out 5.2 assists per game, second best in the ACC.

The odds makers have the Duke Blue Devils as a -22.5 point favorite with an over/under of 134.5.

Check out the latest March Madness Odds here.

Prediction: The line might seem a little high at first glance, but the Blue Devils are playing as well as they have all season right now. Go ahead and advance them in your brackets to the next round.

Need more help making your picks winners? Check out our top  handicappers.

Bet the Duke/Hampton basketball game at an online sportsbook that gives you a 50% sign up bonus up to $500 from the website “Where the Line Originates” – Bookmaker.

Duke Blue Devils Betting Trends:

• Duke is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Duke’s last 9 games