North Carolina Tar Heels vs Duke Blue Devils Prediction, 3/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs Duke Blue Devils

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026

Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC

TV: ESPN

The North Carolina Tar Heels (24-6) are on their way to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday where they will try to defeat the Duke Blue Devils (28-2).

The North Carolina Tar Heels stepped onto the hardwood against Clemson and went home with a win by a final score of 67-63 in their last game. North Carolina wrapped up the contest having earned a 37.9% FG percentage (22 of 58) and converted 12 of 27 shots from downtown. When they shot from the free throw line, the Tar Heels knocked down 11 of their 15 shots for a percentage of 73.3%. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 32 with 6 of them being offensive. They also dished out 13 assists in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In reference to defense, North Carolina allowed the other team to go 43.3% from the floor on 26 of 60 shooting. Clemson recorded 11 dimes and had 4 steals in the game. In addition, Clemson pulled down 34 rebounds (6 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Clemson ended up going 66.7% when shooting free throws by converting 4 of 6 shots. They converted 7 out of their 20 shots from distance. In relation to fouls, the Tar Heels walked away with 15 while Clemson finished the game with 15 fouls.

Luka Bogavac is someone who was a contributor in the game. He finished the game at 42.9% from the field and earned 3 assists. He played for 23 mins played and also snagged 1 rebound. He ended up scoring 20 points on 6 of 14 shooting.

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North Carolina will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 24-6 this season. They currently have an average of 80.4 pts per game (80th in the nation) on 47.3% from the floor. The Tar Heels are hitting 34.3% on shots from beyond the arc (256 of 747) and 68.5% from the free throw line. As a team, North Carolina is pulling in 38.3 boards per contest and has 482 dimes for the season, which ranks 71st in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are turning it over 9.5 times per game and as a squad they commit 14.5 fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Tar Heels are forcing their opponents into 9.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.5 personal fouls. They give up 34.2% on shots from distance and they are ranked 98th in the country in opponents points per game (70.9). The Tar Heels defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 41.6% (788 of 1,895) and they concede 34.1 boards per contest as a squad. They currently rank 109th in D-1 in giving up assists with 380 conceded on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Duke Blue Devils walked away with a victory by a final of 93-64 when they played North Carolina State. Regarding rebounding, Duke allowed North Carolina State to pull down 31 overall (14 offensive). They finished 24.1% from beyond the arc by shooting 7 of 29 and ended up shooting 11 of 17 at the free throw line (64.7%). The Blue Devils permitted North Carolina State to knock down 23 of 65 tries from the field which had them at 35.4% for this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Blue Devils finished shooting 32 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.2%. In relation to 3-point shots, Duke made 11 of their 28 attempts (39.3%). They were able to knock down 18 of them for a percentage of 66.7%. North Carolina State had 22 fouls for the contest which took the Blue Devils to the charity stripe for a total of 27 tries. They also coughed up the ball 7 times, while getting 2 steals for this contest. The Blue Devils snagged 29 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards for a total of 41 in this matchup.

Cameron Boozer ended up being important for the Blue Devils in this game. He accumulated 26 points in his 32 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 4 assists in this game. He made 8 out of 10 in this game giving him a rate of 80.0%, and tallied 9 rebounds.

Duke has a win-loss record of 28-2 for the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Blue Devils are connecting on 49.9% from the field, which ranks 16th in the nation. Duke has accumulated 2,495 pts this season (83.2 per game) and they collect 40.0 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 17.3 times per game (22nd in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.5 times per game. The Blue Devils are committing 15.7 fouls per contest and they shoot 72.7% from the charity stripe.

The Duke defense allows 29.9% on shots from distance (238 of 796) and their opponents are making 70.6% of their free throw attempts. They concede 11.8 dimes and 29.6 boards per contest, which ranks 55th and 11th in the nation. The Blue Devils on defense are ranked 3rd in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 62.5. They have forced 12.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 38.7% from the floor (8th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Duke

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