“Rivalry Week ” hits its apex tonight as college basketball’s most intense rivalry comes to you from the Dean Dome.  Second ranked Duke Blue Devils take their 19-1 record on the road tonight to take on the third ranked UNC Tar Heels (21-1).  Although the Blue Devils are in sole position of the ACC lead, they are currently 4 point underdogs at Sportsbook.com.  Both teams have not only been impressive in the regular rankings and standings, but they are also keeping bettors extremely happy.  Overall, Duke is 13-6 ATS this season, including a flawless 7-0 in ACC play. SportsBook.com currently has the UNC Tar Heals as the 4pt favorite as they host Duke at home.

UNC’s covering trends are just as impressive with a 15-4 ATS record for the season including 7-1 on their home court.  The Tar Heels task at winning and more importantly covering could get much more difficult tonight as they might be without starting point guard Ty Lawson (13.6 ppg, 5.7 ast) who is banged up with a sprained ankle.  What makes matters more challenging for the UNC backcourt is that they are already without backup point guard Bobby Fraser.  To make matters worse for the Tar Heels’ backcourt is that they will face Duke’s wicked perimeter defense which holds their opponents to 30% shooting from beyond the arc.  If Lawson is a “no go”, UNC will have to rely on role player Quentin Thomas as their main distributor.  In 36 minutes of action versus Florida State on Sunday, Thomas was very solid scoring 9 points while dishing out 6 assists to only two turnovers.
 
With the likelihood of UNC playing without Lawson, it isn’t surprising that 55% of the early bettors at Sportsbook.com are on the underdog Duke Blue Devils (+4).  It also isn’t surprising that the early bettors are pounding the OVER (164) considering these two teams combine to average 176.7 points per outing.  Finally, be sure to log on now to Sportsbook.com to check out all of the props offered for tonight’s huge game.  Here are just a few:
 
Tyler Hansbrough Total Points- O/U  21.5
Wayne Ellington Total Points + Assists O/U 17.5
Kyle Singler Points + Rebounds- O/U 19.5
Team to Score 20 points first- Duke (+110) UNC (-140)

View NCAA Basketball Betting Odds and buy your College Basketball picks now at OnlineSportsHandicapping.com before you bet on "The Rivalry" at Sportsbook.com

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