The Clemson Tigers take on the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, NC, on Saturday, Feb. 14. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Duke is favored by 13.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -1100. Clemson, meanwhile, enters as a +13.5 underdog and is +700 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The total is set at 133.5 points.
Here’s my Clemson vs. Duke predictions and college basketball picks for Saturday, February 14.
Clemson Tigers vs Duke Blue Devils Predictions, Pick
My Pick: Under 133.5
My Clemson vs Duke best bet is on both teams to go under the total. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Clemson vs Duke Odds, Lines, Spread
| Clemson Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+13 -110 | 133 -110o / -110u | +700 |
| Duke Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-13 -110 | 133 -110o / -110u | -1100 |
- Clemson vs Duke Spread: Duke -13, Clemson +13
- Clemson vs Duke Over/Under: 133
- Clemson vs Duke Moneyline: Clemson ML +700, Duke ML -1100
Clemson vs Duke NCAAB Preview
Clemson Tigers
Clemson comes to Cameron Indoor Stadium at 20-5 overall and 10-2 in ACC play.
As I've done in every Clemson preview, I want to talk about how great its defense is. Against Virginia Tech, though, that tenacious defense was nowhere to be found.
The Hokies may have had the best shooting night from any team this season in their win over Clemson, shooting 52% from the field, 52% from 3 and 100% from the free-throw line.
Even with Virginia Tech's efficient offensive performance, Clemson still has the best defense in the ACC, according to KenPom.
The Tigers are not looking to get in track meets with teams. They like to slow the game down, run their system and get a good look after using 20 or more seconds on the shot clock.
Junior big man Carter Welling had 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks in the loss to VT, but Clemson will need Welling to hold his own against Cam Boozer on both ends.
Welling has gone 12-of-44 from 3 on the year and hasn't hit a triple in his last six games. However, it's worth noting that eight of his 12 made 3s have come off him setting or slipping a ball screen.
Clemson will want to pull Boozer away from the paint, and a good way to do that is to have Welling catch the ball around the perimeter, where he can shoot a 3 or use his quick first step to make Boozer try to stay in front of him.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke bounced back from its loss to UNC in a solid way against Pitt, winning 70-54. That now puts the Blue Devils at 22-2 overall and 11-1 in the ACC.
As of writing, Duke is expected to be without Patrick Ngongba, who suffered a wrist injury in the loss to UNC.
Isaiah Evans needs to step up in Ngongba's absence, and he did that in a big way against Pitt, posting his most efficient scoring game of the season with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from deep.
Defensively, this Blue Devil team continues to smother opposing offenses.
Since giving up 75 points in its win over SMU, Duke has the second-best defense in the country, according to Bart Torvik, holding opponents to an average of 57.4 points per game in the last 8 games.
Caleb Foster has had a solid junior year, and his ability to blow up dribble handoffs to disrupt the flow of an offense is an underrated aspect of his game. Duke also has Dame Sarr and Maliq Brown causing chaos with their active hands.
Clemson vs Duke NCAAB Pick to Bet
Brad Brownell's teams have always played a slow tempo, but this squad is playing the slowest tempo since Brownell's 2021 Tigers. That year, Clemson scored 53 points in Cameron.
Clemson isn't looking to run in transition because it values its time of possession, and though Jon Scheyer wants Duke to run more in transition, the Blue Devils have been inconsistent all season in scoring on fast breaks.
At the end of the day, with the Tigers coming off one of their worst defensive performance of the season, I trust Brownell to make the proper adjustments heading into this matchup.
Duke wins this game at home, thanks to its ability to switch 1-5 on defense while maintaining consistent ball pressure, which will force Clemson to settle for low-percentage shots at the end of possessions.
My Pick: Under 133.5
