Tulsa vs Duke | Preview, Predictions, Odds

Thursday, February 25, 2009 – NCAA Free Pick

Tulsa Golden Hurricane (19-8) vs. #5 Duke Blue Devils (23-4)

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The Tulsa Golden Hurricane will travel to Durham, North Carolina on Thursday night to take on No. 5 Duke in a an effort to spoil the Blue Devils 15-0 run at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

This is just the third all-time meeting between these two teams, with Duke taking both prior matchups including a 97-56 thumping of Tulsa, back on Mar 14, 1999.

The Golden Hurricane has lost three straight games, including Saturday’s 78-70 home loss to UTEP. Ben Uzoh finished with 22 points, center Jerome Jordan recorded a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Justin Hurtt chipped in with 15 in the loss. Tulsa puts a heavy emphasis on a strong defensive presence game-in and game-out and has had success in that area for the most part, allowing just 64.3 ppg this year, while holding opponents under 40 percent from the floor. They are also outrebounding teams by 7.7 rebounds per game. Jordan, a seven-foot senior leads the Hurricane with an average 8.6 rpg, and has 71 blocks on the season — the C- USA’s all-time leader in that category. The team possesses balance both inside and out with guards delivering from the perimeter, combined with a dominating presence in the paint.

In the meantime, Duke enters tonight’s contest with a six-game win streak, including a 67-55 victory over Virginia Tech this past weekend. The win gives the Blue Devils a one game lead over Maryland in the ACC standings, with just three league games remaining. Junior forward Kyle Singler exploded for a double double with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Nolan Smith added 23 points, and Devils’ leading scorer Jon Scheyer contributed with 15 points and seven assists in the win. Duke pulled off the victory despite shooting an embarrassing 29 percent from the floor, a far cry from their season average of 80.0 ppg, on 44.7 percent shooting. The Devils are solid on the defensive end of the floor, holding opponents to just 62.5 ppg. They are out rebounding teams by more than six per game, and are led by Singler with 7.3 rpg in that category.

The odds makers have the Blue Devils as –18 ½ -point favorites in this one.

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Tulsa will be gunning hard to post their fourth consecutive 20-win season, but will have to do it against a Duke team that is not likely to lose on their home court.

I expect the Devils to get a solid win in this one, winning by 8-points.