Surprising Maryland can tie No. 7 Duke atop the ACC standings with a win in Durham on Saturday afternoon, but the host Blue Devils have opened as 9.5-point favorites on Bodog's college basketball odds.
Both teams have something in common heading into this game: They enter off a win over North Carolina. The Terps (16-6, 5-1 ATS on road) beat the Heels 92-71 on Sunday behind Greivis Vasquez's 26 points and 11 rebounds. Maryland hasn't played since then because its game with Virginia this week was snowed out. So the Terps should be both rested and a bit rusty. Vasquez, a senior guard, is the reigning ACC Player of the Week and certainly one of the most underrated players in the nation. He leads the Terps in scoring (18.1 ppg) and assists (6.3 apg) but there is a common denominator in Maryland's six losses: Vasquez shot below 50 percent from the field in all of them – well below in five of the six. He'll need a huge game here for Maryland to win.
Duke (20-4, 9-3 ATS at home) beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 64-54, on Wednesday night but it may have cost the Blue Devils starting forward Lance Thomas for Saturday's game. Thomas suffered a severely bruised bone in his knee and is doubtful for the Terps. The senior doesn't put up big numbers – 5.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg – but is an excellent defender and one of those glue and hustle guys that every good team needs. Freshman Mason Plumlee, who played a season-high 27 minutes against UNC, will get heavy minutes again if Thomas sits.
The Blue Devils swept three games with Maryland last season, including a 41-point win in Durham for the Terps' worst loss since 1963. Vasquez was held to four points in that one, and the margin of defeat started rumors that Maryland coach Gary Williams would be fired, but he and the team persevered. Under Williams, the Terrapins have beaten at least one Top 10 opponent for 13 straight years – they have yet to do so this season. Duke has won five in a row overall in the series, although the last loss did come in Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2007. The Blue Devils are 13-0 at home this year and have covered in the past six there.Get your ACC basketball odds and props all season at Bodog
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