2 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Alabama vs. Duke

Like many expected, the 2 seed Alabama Crimson Tide are set to face the 1 seed Duke Blue Devils in the Round of 8 to determine who will win the East region of the 2025 men's college basketball tournament. Will the Crimson Tide hand the Blue Devils their fourth loss of the entire season, or will they fall short against the consensus favorite to win the national title?

Alabama would love to carry over their three-point success from their win over the 6 seed BYU Cougars in the Round of 16 after setting a tournament record by knocking down 25 threes on Thursday. As for Duke, they are coming off a 100-93 victory over the 4 seed Arizona Wildcats, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 282-208 during the tourney.

To see thoughts on other games, check out our full men's college basketball tournament predictions page. But for Alabama vs. Duke, here are my favorite bets in FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball betting odds.

Betting Picks for Alabama vs. Duke

Alabama +6.5 (-102)

While it's highly improbable the Crimson Tide have 25 threes posted on their box score at the end of Saturday's contest, they still boast an offense that is capable of going toe-to-toe with the Blue Devils. Duke is first in adjusted offensive efficiency (130.3) and second in effective field goal percentage (58.2%), but Alabama isn't too far behind them, ranking fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency (128.5) and sixth in effective field goal percentage (57.0%), per BartTorvik.

Although the Blue Devils are also 9th in three-point percentage (38.5%) and 52nd in three-point rate (45.4%), the Crimson Tide are 13th in three-point percentage allowed (30.1%) and 51st in three-point rate allowed (34.9%). Playing at the fastest tempo in college hoops tends to lead to high-scoring shootouts involving Alabama, but they still have done a solid job limiting threes.

Besides being battle tested in an ultra-competitive SEC this season, the Crimson Tide are 6-2 against the spread (ATS) when they've been an underdog. Ahead of Saturday's highly-anticipated clash, BartTorvik has the Blue Devils escaping with an 86-82 victory, and DRatings forecasts a score of 87.1-83.2 in favor of Duke.

Mark Sears Over 4.5 Assists (-136)

In my best bets and player props piece for the Round of 16 matchup between Alabama and BYU, I listed the over on Mark Sears' assists prop, and he delivered with eight assists. With Sears being the engine of the Crimson Tide's dynamic offense, we're going right back to the well despite the Blue Devils deploying a formidable defense.

After watching Sears explode for 34 points on 10 made threes versus BYU, Duke will likely try to take the ball out of Sears' hands on Saturday and force the other players on Alabama to beat them. The good news is that the Crimson Tide have a handful of players who are capable of stepping up and knocking down shots if this occurs.

Given the fact that the over of 4.5 assists is a bit juiced for Sears, I also don't mind taking a look at the alternate assists market, especially with this game featuring a lofty 172.5-point total. It's also worth mentioning that the Blue Devils are 170th in defensive turnover rate (17.2%), so we shouldn't expect Sears to have too many possessions that end in a turnover rather than a chance for one of his teammates to make a shot from one of his passes.

You can also click here to get our updated printable Men's College Basketball Tournament bracket for the Round of 16.

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Which bets stand out to you for the upcoming games? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest men's college basketball betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.