Duke may be a No. 1 seed and a heavy favorite to reach the Final Four but they are no lock to make it considering the Blue Devils have stumbled in this role in the past. They were a top seed in 2002 and in 2006 and lost in the Sweet 16.
Although they have not made it past the Sweet 16 since 2004, the Blue Devils are listed as 8.5-point favorites for Friday night’s game against Purdue (9:55 p.m. ET, CBS). The the total for the game is set at 127.5 at SBG Global.
“This year, we’re only thinking about this year,” guard Nolan Smith said, “We’re not focused at all on the past.
“The fact that we have guys that went to the (round of) 16 last year and knowing that’s where we lost last year, we’re ready to go past that. We’re doing what we’ve got to do, defensively and rebounding-wise, to do that.”
The Blue Devils have been to the Final Four nine times under head coach Mike Krzyzewski and many are expect them to make it again. Led by seniors Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas and sharpshooter Kyle Singler, the Blue Devils have a talented squad.
“We want to have a chance at a Final Four (and) play for a national championship. No matter what, if it was that easy, then everybody would do it all the time,” Krzyzewski said.
“You’ve just got to keep knocking at the door. You have to keep striving to get there, and once you’re there, you hope to open the door and you’re allowed to come in.”
Duke will have to get past a Purdue team that has surprised a lot of people by getting this far. Many believed that without talented forward Robbie Hummel, the Boilermakers would fold but has not been the case.
Purdue has an excellent coach in Matt Painter and he has found a way for this team to win even without one of their best players.
Here are some key NCAA Tournament betting stats for Friday’s game:
The Boilermakers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog. The Boilermakers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven vs. the ACC.
The Blue Devils are 5-2 ATS in their last seven vs. the Big Ten. The Blue Devils are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite.
The under is 6-2 in the Boilermakers’ last eight overall. The under is 5-1 in the Blue Devils’ last six overall.
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Title: NCAA Tournament Preview: No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 1 Duke
Duration: 0:00
Submited by: SBGGlobal.com
Category: Sports Roundup
Added on: March 26th, 2010
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