We’ve entered the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.
Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015. Bern stepped away in the middle of the 2016-2017 season with a 16-12 record and $13,317 bankroll, with Mike Grimala taking his place.
Duke minus-6.5 vs. South Carolina, $660 to win $600:
The Duke Blue Devils are the most talented team in the country, and despite their stretch of bad basketball in the middle of the season they are finally starting to show it. Duke has won five straight games including an ACC conference championship, and has covered the spread in all five.
On the other side, South Carolina looked very impressive in its opening-round win over Marquette. The game closed as a pick’em, yet the Gamecocks dominated the Golden Eagles for a 20-point win. However, prior to that game South Carolina went 3-6 to close out the season and had only covered the spread in one of its last 10 contests.
The Gamecocks play tough defense, but the Blue Devils have too many weapons and will be too much for South Carolina.
Grayson Allen came off the bench to make 4-of-6 from 3-point range in Duke’s first-round win over Troy, and I expect his hot shooting to continue tonight. The Blue Devils also have a distinct coaching advantage. Mike Krzyzewski is 40-10 (.800) in the second game of the weekend in the NCAA tournament, which is the second best in NCAA history behind only Michigan State’s Tom Izzo.
The 6.5 points may seem like a lot, but I think Duke wins by double digits.
Current Standings: Grimala (5-8, $9,000), Keefer (39-34-2, $8,381), Granger (12-14-1, $7,950), Brewer (26-26-1, $7,385)
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