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UAB (10-2) at No. 1 Duke (13-0)
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 5, 7:00PM EST on ESPN 2
Spread: OFF
Over/Under: OFF
The UAB Blazers will travel to the unfriendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on the defending national champion Duke Blue Devils in a non-conference bout on Wednesday night.
The red-hot Blazers who will look to disrupt the No. 1 Devils attempt to improve to 14-0 for the fifth time in school history, while preserving its 27 game home-unbeaten streak.
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UAB enters the contest riding a four-game winning streak including a 79-44 victory over George Washington in its last outing on Dec. 27. UAB shot 54.9 percent from the floor (28 of 51), including 14 for 29 from behind the arc (48.3 percent).
The will need to replicate that type of output if they are to keep pace with the Blue Devils who are the league’s third highest scoring team at 89.3 points per game and have beaten an NCAA best 84- consecutive non-conference opponents at home games. To add to the task, they have also won 31 of their last 32 games, including 15 straight games against current Conference USA teams.
But UAB will bring the heat, led by senior Jamarr Sanders who paces the team and ranks fifth in the C-USA with 17.3 ppg, while also averaging 4.7 rpg. He also leads the Blazers with 28 three-pointers made. Junior Cameron Moore has a team-high 9.1 rpg., as well as leading in field goal percentage (.561), while also ranking second on the team in scoring (17.1).
Meanwhile, the Devils’ Nolan Smith and the top-ranked Blue Devils opened ACC play Sunday night, with the senior scoring a season-high 28 points in the 74-63 win over Miami in Durham.
Smith, who has scored 20 or more points in four consecutive games is averaging 24.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, while shooting 66.7 percent (34-of-51) from the field and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from three-point range in that span, leads the team.
He along with sniper Kyle Singler who has made 15 three-point field goals in the last five games, have lifted the Devils to third in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, shooting .436 from the floor. The senior forward is averaging 20.6 points per game, while shooting 45.5 percent from behind the arc in that span.
That should be something the Blazers perimeter defense can handle, as they rank fifth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, holding the opposition to just .267 from beyond the arc.
Duke is 2-0 all-time against UAB with both wins coming at neutral sites.
The Blazers won’t be able to afford to fall behind early if they want any chance at winning this one. However, they are proving to be a second-half team this season, averaging 39.7 points in the second half, compared to 30.3 points over the opening 20 minutes.
The Devils are a much better squad at both ends of the court beating their foes by an average 26.2-scoring margin, having won seven games by 30 or more points.
With that kind of firepower, I just can’t see the Blazers winning this one.
Free Pick: Duke 85, UAB 69
UAB Blazers Betting Trends:
- UAB is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of UAB’s last 8 games on the road
Duke Blue Devils Betting Trends:
- Duke is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- Duke is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
- Duke is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
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