College basketball odds: Duke, Arkansas face key matchups

By Sports Illustrated and OddsShark/Sports Illustrated
Published

As the major conference tournaments inch closer, the NCAA Tournament bubble picture continues to get more clear. Some teams will be playing games crucial to their postseason chances this week, but Tuesday's biggest game will be between two teams in no danger of being left out of the tournament field.

The Duke Blue Devils (22-7, 10-6 ACC) appeared to be rounding into top form just in time for the postseason with a 7-0 straight-up run that started in late January, but that run has been snapped with back-to-back road losses to Syracuse and Miami. The Blue Devils will try to get back on track Tuesday night at home against the Florida State Seminoles (23-6, 11-5).

Florida State is 5-2 SU and 4-3 against the spread over its last seven games and has an 88-72 win over Duke as a 1.5-point home favorite on the college basketball point spreads at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com earlier this season on its resume. Duke would love to snap this losing streak now with a road game against North Carolina looming this Saturday.

Arkansas (22-7, 11-5 SEC) has likely played its way off the bubble in recent weeks with a 10-3 SU and 9-4 ATS record over its last 13 games including a current run of 5-0 SU and ATS. The Razorbacks will try to pick up a road upset over the Florida Gators (23-6, 13-3) on Wednesday looking to build some momentum heading into the postseason.

Two bubble teams hoping to help their causes this Wednesday are the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (16-12, 7-9 ACC) and the Northwestern Wildcats (20-9, 9-7 Big Ten).

Wake Forest figures to be on the outside looking in at this point, but a home upset over  Louisville (23-6, 11-5) could turn things around. Northwestern is seeking its first March Madness bid in school history, and putting a stop to its current 2-5 SU and ATS skid with a win over Michigan (19-10, 9-7) on Wednesday or Purdue (12-4, 23-6) on Sunday could do the trick.

Then on Thursday night, the Houston Cougars (20-8, 11-5 American) and California Golden Bears (19-9, 10-6 Pac-12) need road wins to keep their at-large hopes alive.

Houston will face Cincinnati (25-4, 14-2) and Cal will take on Utah (18-10, 9-7). The Cougars are 1-14 SU and 6-9 ATS in their last 15 games against the Bearcats, according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database.