The Duke Blue Devils take on the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville, Virginia. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Duke is favored by 14.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -1000. The total is set at 130.5 points.
Here’s my Duke vs. Virginia predictions and college basketball picks for February 17, 2025.
Duke vs Virginia Odds
| Duke Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-13.5 -120 | 131.5 -110o / -110u | -1600 |
| Virginia Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+13.5 +100 | 131.5 -110o / -110u | +800 |
- Duke vs Virginia spread: Duke -13.5, Virginia +13.5
- Duke vs Virginia over/under: 131.5
- Duke vs Virginia moneyline: Duke -1600, Virginia +800
- Duke vs Virginia pick: Duke -14.5 (Play to -15)
My Duke vs Virginia best bet is on the Blue Devils spread, with the best odds currently available at bet365. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
My Duke vs Virginia College Basketball Betting Preview
Virginia has suddenly started to find life under coach Ron Sanchez, winning three straight and four of its last five.
However, this Cavs team is still 13-12 overall and two games under .500 in league play.
Under Tony Bennett, Virginia played at a slow tempo, but it's pack-line defense was elite (one of the best units in the country) and the offense was efficient, even though it lacked explosiveness.
Well, this season, under Sanchez, Virginia is still playing slow, but its defense has fallen off a cliff (105th in KenPom's defensive efficiency metric) and its offense isn't efficient (141st in offensive efficiency).
Duke is going to expose Virginia, as the Cavaliers have no one who can successfully stop Cooper Flagg (not many teams do).
But more importantly, Duke is shooting over 48% from the mid-range, which ranks 14th nationally.
While the Blue Devils rarely shoot from this area of the court (308th in mid-range attempts, via Haslametrics), the Cavs force teams into the mid-range based on their defensive scheme.
Also, from a motivational angle, this isn't just any game for Duke. The Blue Devils actually have competition for the league title from Clemson, which trails first place by one game. In other words, Duke can ill-afford to lose to Virginia — or even play with fire.
The Blue Devils aren't going to be looking ahead to a non-league game on Saturday against Illinois when they have an important conference game ahead.
Duke can win in a number of different ways — a high-scoring affair, a game in the mud or a Flagg takeover — so I'm expecting it to make another statement.
Pick: Duke -14.5 (Play to -15)
