North Carolina and Duke Headline This Weekend’s ACC Basketball Betting Action

There’s never a dull afternoon in the ACC, and with Duke and North Carolina back in the Basketball Betting action, that’ll certainly be the case this weekend.

Can each continue their run toward a high seed this March? Let’s take a look.

No. 21 North Carolina Tar Heels (17-6 SU, 11-9 ATS) at Clemson Tigers (17-7 SU, 9-10-1 ATS)

Saturday, February 12: 1:00 p.m. ESPN3.com

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Starting in Clemson, SC, the North Carolina Tar Heels will hit the court with a major chip on their shoulders. That’s because this will be the first time they’re back in action since Wednesday’s disappointing loss at Duke.

For those of you Basketball Betting experts who saw the game, you know that a win was in the Tar Heels hands. They took a commanding 43-29 halftime lead, before giving up 50 second half points in the loss.

Still, there were a lot of positive signs in that defeat, especially the play of point guard Kendall Marshall. With fellow guard Larry Drew II leaving school recently, this job is squarely in Marshall’s hands and he took advantage with his second straight solid effort, chipping in a team-high six assists.

The recipient of most of those passes was center Tyler Zeller, who led North Carolina with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

And with a renewed sense of focus and frustration after that loss, we just can’t see North Carolina losing here. Remember it was just about a month ago when Clemson came to Chapel Hill, and these Tar Heels beat them up 75-65, holding them to 35 percent shooting in a Basketball Betting win.

With improved play across the board, we expect a similar effort from North Carolina Saturday.

Basketball Betting Pick: North Carolina

No. 5 Duke Blue Devils (22-2 SU, 12-11 ATS) at Miami Hurricanes (15-9 SU, 9-10 ATS)

Sunday, February 13: 6:45 p.m. Fox Sports

Next up, the team that beat the Tar Heels on Wednesday will hit the road themselves when No. 5 Duke travels to Miami to take on the Hurricanes.

And really, the story of this Duke season has been the story of Nolan Smith. The senior guard is putting together an All-American campaign, as he leads his team and the ACC with an average of 21.5 points and 5.5 assists this season. He may have saved his best performance for Wednesday evening, when against North Carolina, he poured in a career high 34 points.

So can Miami come out here and pull the Basketball Betting upset? In one word: No.

Coach Frank Haith is doing his best with limited resources, but as you can see in Miami’s record, it isn’t equating to wins. The Hurricanes are just 4-6 in conference play, with three of those wins by a combined five points in the last 10 days. Just as easily as they’re 4­-6 in the ACC, they could be 1-9.

With Smith leading them, and having four full days to rest after the emotional North Carolina win, Duke should come out with a renewed sense of energy and focus this weekend. It will equal an easy Basketball Betting win on Sunday.

Get your wager in now!

Basketball Betting Pick: Duke