Duke vs Clemson Odds, Picks and Predictions: Tigers Continue to Earn Conference Stripes

The No. 24 Duke Blue Devils face off against the Clemson Tigers in NCAA basketball action on Saturday night.

Despite all the preseason hype surrounding Duke, North Carolina, Miami, and Virginia, it's surprisingly Clemson who sits atop the early-season ACC standings with a perfect 6-0 mark.

College basketball betting lines opened with the Tigers as slim 1-point home faves but have flipped to favor the Blue Devils at -1. Here are my best free Duke vs. Clemson college basketball picks and predictions for January 14.

Duke vs Clemson best odds

Duke vs Clemson picks and predictions

Duke is a young and inexperienced team led by a young and inexperienced head coach Jon Scheyer. While the Blue Devils are extremely talented, they've also been inconsistent and have looked shaky in conference play, going 4-2 SU and 1-5 ATS.

What's most concerning is how badly they struggled on the road during that span. They lost by 11 points to Wake Forest, were hammered 84-60 by North Carolina State, and barely held on to beat a sub-.500 Boston College team. Now, they face a Clemson team that has gone a perfect 9-0 at home and has won six games in a row.

Duke's length and athleticism on defense match up well with Clemson's highly-efficient offense. It's Duke's issues on offense, however, that could be problematic against the Tigers.

The Blue Devils are outside the Top 200 in turnover rate (18.7%) and effective field goal percentage (49.2%). They've been really ineffective in half-court sets without veteran point guard Jeremy Roach, who is sidelined by a toe injury. 

The Blue Devils have done their best offensive work close to the basket and that's exactly where the Tigers thrive on defense, ranking 23rd in the country in opponent 2-point percentage (44%).

Expect Duke's offensive struggles to continue on the road and back the red-hot Tigers to win again.

My best bet: Clemson +1 (-110 at Betway)

Duke vs Clemson spread analysis

Duke is fresh off a 77-69 home victory against Pittsburgh but it wasn't easy, with the Blue Devils needing a terrific second half to fight back from a 12-point deficit. 

The Blue Devils have been winning this season but they certainly haven't impressed and have covered the spread just once in their last six games. 

This is a very young squad that has relied on several highly-touted freshmen, including Kyle Filipowski (team-high 14.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game), Mark Mitchell (9.8 ppg), Dariq Whitehead, and Tyrese Proctor.

The Blue Devils have dominated on the glass and rank second in the country in rebound rate. They also knock down free throws at a 78.6% clip and could look to take advantage of a Clemson squad that has a high foul rate.

The Tigers have gone 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS in their last six games and are coming off an 83-70 win against Louisville. They showed their mettle in close road victories versus Pitt and Virginia Tech and also knocked off Penn State in overtime. 

Clemson has a diverse offensive attack with four players averaging double-digits in points. Forward Hunter Tyson leads the team with 16.2 ppg and 10.1 rpg on 49/44/84 shooting splits while guard Chase Hunter averages 14.5 ppg and 4.5 apg and shoots 42% from deep. 

Clemson is 38th in the country in turnover rate and it has a sizzling 54.6 EFG% — the 26th-best number in the country. 

Duke vs Clemson Over/Under analysis

The Tigers have looked very sharp with the ball but that shouldn't overshadow how solid they've been on defense. They don't force many turnovers or block many shots but they still defend well and are holding opponents to 39.5% shooting from the field — with that number dropping to 37.1% in their last three games. 

They also play at a modest pace and rank 153rd in the country in adjusted tempo. That still isn't as slow as the Blue Devils, who are 259th in adjusted tempo. 

Perhaps Duke should push the pace because it might bring it easy buckets on transition and make up for stagnancy in the half-court. It's obvious that the Blue Devils miss the steady hand of Roach, who leads the team with 3.2 assists per game. 

The Blue Devils have struggled with their outside shooting and rank 259th in the country in 3-point percentage (32%) with that number dropping to 28.8% in their last three games. 

However, they've been terrific at defending the three ball and are holding foes to 29% shooting from long range. If they can limit Clemson's deadly shooters on the perimeter the Under might be the play here.

Duke vs Clemson betting trend to know

The Blue Devils are 0-4 ATS in their last four road games. Find more College basketball betting trends for Duke vs. Duke State.

Duke vs Clemson game info

Duke vs Clemson key injuries

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