Duke vs NC State Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for January 4 (ACC Rivals Go Bucket for Bucket at PNC Arena)

Duke vs NC State Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
• No. 16 Duke (11-3, 2-1 ACC) vs. NC State (11-4, 1-3 ACC)
• Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2023
• Time: 7:00 PM ET
• Venue: PNC Arena -- Raleigh, North Carolina

The 2022-23 college basketball season continues on Wednesday with a thrilling matchup between the No. 16 Duke Blue Devils and NC State Wolfpack. Duke is coming off a dominant 86-67 win over Florida State on Saturday. Ryan Young led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Meanwhile, NC State saw its three-game winning streak snapped in a 78-64 loss to Clemson on Friday night. Terquavion Smith scored a team-high 21 points, but shot only 5-of-21 from the floor (23.8%). The Wolfpack shot 30.9% as team and racked up 23 personal fouls in the conference defeat.

Duke vs NC State Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: DUKE: (-205) | NC ST: (+168)
• Spread: DUKE: -4.5 (-115) | NC ST: +4.5 (-105)
• Total: 144.5 -- Over: (-115) | Under: (-105)

Duke enters this contest as small favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 7 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 144.5 points, which is above average compared to Wednesday's projected totals.

Duke vs NC State Betting Trends

• Duke's record against the spread is 7-7-0.
• The Blue Devils' ATS record as 3.5-point favorites or more is 6-5.
• Duke has played 14 games this year, and six of them have hit the over.
• NC State has seven wins in 15 games against the spread this year.
• The Wolf Pack have won twice ATS (2-1) as a 3.5-point underdog or greater this year.
• There have been eight NC State games (out of 15) that went over the total this season.

Duke Rank	Duke AVG		NC State AVG	NC State Rank
147th	73.9	Points Scored	79.5	43rd
24th	60.9	Points Allowed	68.3	169th
44th	36.1	Rebounds	35.2	74th
15th	12.0	Off. Rebounds	10.3	71st
222nd	7.1	3pt Made	9.1	45th
112th	14.5	Assists	14.7	96th
77th	11.3	Turnovers	10.5	32nd

Duke vs NC State Prediction & Pick

While Duke has always seemed to be in the forefront of college basketball conversations, it may be flying a bit under the radar this season. The Blue Devils have been relying on their defense to get the job done as they allow only 60.9 points per game (T-No. 18 in NCAA) on a 40.6% shooting mark.

Having to face a tough defense is not exactly the best case scenario for a Wolfpack team coming off a brutal loss. NC State is going to have trouble controlling the boards on Wednesday. It has posted a total rebounding rate of 52.6%, which fails to compare to Duke's mark of 56.8% (No. 4 in NCAA).

Duke has won four of its last five games against NC State, so I'll side with the Blue Devils on the road.

Final Score Prediction: Duke: 77 | NC State: 73

Duke vs NC State Best Bet

History shows that points are not hard to come by when these ACC rivals meet on the court. The total has hit the over in nine of the last 10 matchups overall between Duke and NC State as well as in 11 of the last 12 head-to-head matchups played at PNC Arena. Wednesday night should be no different.

Duke has been stellar on defense this season, but NC State is not going to back down and is putting up 84.4 points per home game. The Blue Devils are going to be forced to keep up with buckets of their own. The over has cashed in five of Duke's last six games, too, so trust the trends in this one.

Bet: Over 144.5 Points (-115)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.