Duke Blue Devils vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction, 1/6/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Duke Blue Devils vs Louisville Cardinals

Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY

TV: ESPN

The Louisville Cardinals (11-3) are hosting the Duke Blue Devils (13-1) at KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday.

The Duke Blue Devils played Florida State and took home the win by a score of 91-87 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Blue Devils left the arena with 17 and Florida State racked up 22 personal fouls. They also converted 14 of their 30 attempts from downtown. Florida State finished the game at 68.8% at the free throw line by converting 11 of 16 tries. Furthermore, Florida State pulled down 21 rebounds (8 offensive, 13 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Florida State doled out 17 assists and had 10 steals for this game. Regarding the defense, Duke allowed 53.4% from the floor on 31 of 58 shooting. They also recorded 23 assists in the game while forcing 13 turnovers and having 8 steals. In the matter of rebounding, they earned 31 with 10 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Blue Devils knocked down 23 of 25 shots for a percentage of 92.0%. Duke walked away from the game having earned a 52.8% FG percentage (28 of 53) and made 12 of 27 3-pointers.

Isaiah Evans is one guy who had an impact for the matchup. He went 47.1% from the floor and also distributed 1 assist. He played for 33 minutes played and also grabbed 3 rebounds. He was able to score 28 points on 8 out of 17 shooting.

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Duke steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 13-1 this season. They average 87.3 points per game (33rd in the nation) while hitting 49.8% from the floor. The Blue Devils are connecting on 35.4% on three-point shots (139 of 393) and 71.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Duke is collecting 41.4 boards per game and has totaled 256 dimes this year, which is 51st in college hoops in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 11.6 times per contest and as a group are committing 16.9 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end of the court, the Blue Devils are forcing their opponents into 13.5 turnovers per game while drawing 20.3 personal fouls. They rank 92nd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 177 relinquished on the season. The Blue Devils defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 38.5% (328 of 852) and they surrender 30.9 boards per contest as a team. They give up 30.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 29th in Division 1 in opponents points per game (65.5).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Louisville Cardinals took a defeat with a final score of 80-76 when they played Stanford. The Cardinals were able to collect 18 defensive boards and 18 offensive boards totaling 36 for this contest. They turned the ball over 12 times, while getting 4 steals in this matchup. Stanford was called for 19 fouls in the matchup which took the Cardinals to the charity stripe for 21 shots. They were able to knock down 18 of those for a rate of 85.7%. With regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Louisville converted 6 of their 27 attempts (22.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Cardinals finished shooting 26 for 60 from the field which gave them a rate of 43.3%. The Cardinals allowed Stanford to convert 25 out of their 54 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 46.3% in this matchup. They shot 47.4% from beyond the arc by shooting 9 of 19 and finished the contest at 21 out of 31 at the free throw line (67.7%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, Louisville permitted Stanford to pull down 24 in all (8 on the offensive glass).

Ryan Conwell ended up having an impact for the Cardinals in the game. He had 18 points in his 35 mins on the court and accumulated 2 dimes in the matchup. He made 6 out of 21 in this game giving him a rate of 28.6%, and had 7 rebounds.

Louisville has a record of 11-3 this season. As an offense, the Cardinals are shooting 47.1% from the field, which ranks 104th in the country. Louisville has tallied 1,265 pts this season (90.4 per contest) and they grab 42.4 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 18.5 times per contest (27th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 11.5 times per game. The Cardinals are committing 20.0 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 77.5% from the free throw line.

The Cardinals on defense are ranked 83rd in college in PPG allowed with 69.1. They are forcing 13.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 38.8% from the floor (24th in college hoops). The Louisville defense surrenders 31.5% on 3-pointers (103 of 327) and their opposition knocks down 72.2% of their free throw shots. They give up 10.9 assists and 33.4 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 33rd and 117th in those defensive categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Duke

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