Duke Blue Devils NCAA Basketball Odds to Win NCAA Tournament
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
by WagerWeb Sportsbook
For most teams, winning your conference tournament and reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament would be considered a massively successful season, but most teams aren’t Duke. The Duke Blue Devils opened the season as the consensus No. 1 team in the nation and the odds-on favorite to repeat as champions. But an injury to freshman stud Kyrie Irving after eight games may have been the biggest reason the Dukies couldn’t repeat – he did get back for the NCAA Tournament, but the chemistry may have been a bit off.
WagerWeb.com odds to win national title: +800
But Duke doesn’t rebuild, it reloads, with one of the nation’s top freshman classes arriving, led by guard Austin Rivers, the top overall recruit by some experts, and Quinn Cook.
Coming off their 16th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, and 26th in 27 years, Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils return three starters from a team that finished 32-5 overall, 13-3 in league play and captured the school’s 19th ACC Championship with a 75-58 win over North Carolina in the 58th annual ACC Tournament. Krzyzewski became just the second coach in NCAA Division I history to record 900 career wins with Duke’s victory over Michigan in the third round of the NCAA West Regional.
Gone are ACC Player of the Year Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Irving. Smith and Singler combined for 4,303 points, 1,413 rebounds and 699 assists in their four-year ACC careers. Smith became Duke’s 14th ACC Player of the Year after leading the ACC in scoring (20.6) and finishing second in assists (5.1). Singler, a two-time first-team All-ACC selection, finished his career as only the 10th player in league history to have at least 2,000 points (2,392) and 1,000 rebounds (1,015). Irving averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 assists, while shooting 52.9 from the floor and 90.1 from the free throw line.
Seth Curry, the team’s leading returning scorer (9.0), started 19 games a year ago; shot .435 (64-for-147) from behind the arc and averaged 10.9 points per game in league play; scored in double figures 16 times, including three games with 20-or-more points. Mason Plumlee started all but five games as a sophomore a year ago, had 14 games with 10-or-more rebounds and finished fifth in the ACC in rebounding (8.4); shot .593 from the field, averaged 7.2 points per game and led the team with six double-doubles.
Ryan Kelly started 27 games as sophomore, averaging 6.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 20.1 minutes per game; averaged 6.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in ACC games; averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds over a three-game stretch against NC State, Wake Forest and Boston College (J19-27). One of four Blue Devils to shoot over 50 percent from the floor a year ago, Miles Plumlee averaged 4.8 points in 17.0 minutes per game, finished third on the team in rebounding (4.9) and blocked shots (17); has a career .532 field goal percentage. Tyler Thornton played in 34 games as a freshman in 2011, starting three times.
Season opener: Nov. 11 vs. Belmont
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austin rivers - duke blue devils - kyle singler - kyrie irving - mason plumlee - mike krzyzewski - miles plumlee - ncaa tournament - nolan smith - quinn cook
