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It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Wake Forest Duke prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Wake Forest Duke.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have arrived at that point where they absolutely must win. They have painted themselves into a corner and now have to slay a giant in order to survive. Wake Forest has made life extremely difficult over the past few weeks. The Demon Deacons were trending toward the NCAA Tournament three weeks ago. They were in the field of 68. They were winning the games they were supposed to win. Their resume was not amazing, but when one looks around at the other teams on or near the NCAA Tournament bubble, no one has a really good resume. Just taking care of business — beating the teams one is supposed to beat — was going to be good enough for Wake Forest.
In early February, the Deacs had not stumbled against inferior opponents. That, plus an early-season win over Michigan which has aged really well, was going to be enough to get Wake into March Madness and finally give coach Steve Forbes the NCAA bid he so desperately needed to jump-start his tenure in Winston-Salem.
It did not last. Three bad bubble losses have put Wake in a horrible position. If the Deacs can't beat Duke here, their at-large candidacy is finished. That's how badly this team has botched a once-promising situation.
Here are the Wake Forest-Duke College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Wake Forest-Duke Odds
Wake Forest: +21.5 (-114)
Moneyline: +2000
Duke: -21.5 (-106)
Moneyline: -7000
Over: 145.5 (-110)
Under: 145.5 (-110)
How to Watch Wake Forest vs Duke
Time: 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN
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Why Wake Forest Will Cover The Spread/Win
Wake Forest is not a good team, and it is not likely to win this must-win game. However, with the spread being over 20 points, Wake — playing for its NCAA Tournament life — is going to put up a fight. Wake will play with the desperation we have not seen against Virginia and NC State and Florida State. Wake could lose this game by 20 and still cover. Since Wake has its back to the wall, the crisis-mode aspect of this game could certainly enable the Demon Deacons to play with enough urgency to cover the spread.
Why Duke Will Cover The Spread/Win
Wake Forest lost to lowly Florida State at home after leading by 16 with over eight minutes remaining in regulation a few weeks ago. That was a big blow to the resume. However, Wake still had time to clean things up and restore its bubble position.
It failed. Wake lost at North Carolina State. Then it lost at home to Virginia. If you thought one Florida State loss was awful, Wake decided to compound its problems but losing two more bubble games to inferior opponents. Now Wake has to compensate for those losses by beating a Duke team which will be a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. If Wake does not win this game, it will need to win the ACC Tournament to get into the Big Dance. This is not where Wake wanted or needed to be, and it reflects how much this team does not play well even in situations when it needs to produce. Wake is unreliable and does not deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Duke, on the other hand, just keeps covering spreads of over 20 points. Duke just beat Florida State by 35 this past Saturday. This team is a wrecking ball which cashes winning tickets. Why stop trusting Duke? The Blue Devils have been winning money for their backers this season.
Final Wake Forest-Duke Prediction & Pick
Our lean is to Wake Forest, but we are not going to trust the inferior team in this matchup. Maybe wait for a live play late in the first half or at halftime.
Final Wake Forest-Duke Prediction & Pick: Wake Forest +21.5
