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Duke vs Tennessee Prediction & Picks (March Madness 2023 Second Round – East Regional)

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Will Rick Barnes avoid another disappointing early March Madness exit, or will one of the hottest teams in the field march on to the Sweet Sixteen? We’ll find out this afternoon as Duke takes on Tennessee in a second-round matchup in Orlando (2:40 pm ET, CBS).

The winner of the matchup between the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (27-8) and fourth-seeded Vols (24-10) will move on to face either Fairleigh Dickinson (!) or Florida Atlantic in the East Regional semis next Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

Will the ACC Tournament champs move on with an 11th straight win? Read on for our Duke vs Tennessee prediction and picks.

Looking for More March Madness Picks?

We will have March Madness predictions and picks for a number of games throughout the men’s and women’s tournaments, so keep an eye out for them.

Furman vs San Diego State Prediction & Picks

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Duke vs Tennessee Odds

Odds are via BetOnline as of Saturday, March 18, 2023.

Spread

Duke -3.5 (-108)
Tennessee +3.5 (-112)

Over/Under

Over 128.5 (-105)
Under 128.5 (-115)

Moneyline

Duke -172
Tennessee +142

Will Defense Continue to Deliver for Duke?

The Blue Devils were a popular upset pick ahead of their first-round showdown with Max Abmas and Oral Roberts. But an upset was not to be, as Duke impressively shut down Abmas (4 of 15 FG, 2 of 9 3PT, 12 points, five assists, five turnovers) and the Golden Eagles in a 74-51 win.

Oral Roberts shot only 30.2% (19 of 63) from the field, including just 8 of 32 (25%) from three.

Duke’s outstanding defensive performance against ORU followed their showing in the ACC Tournament title game against Virginia, in which they held the Cavaliers to 23.5% shooting from three, 33.3% overall from the field, and 49 points to cap off their championship run in Greensboro.

Does this spell trouble for Tennessee? The Vols struggled mightily to put away Louisiana in the first round thanks to going cold offensively in the second half.

With 12 minutes left, the Vols went up 48-30 on a three-pointer by Tyreke Key. At that point, they had scored 18 points in the first eight minutes of the second half.

From there, they managed only 10 more points against the Ragin’ Cajuns. In those final dozen minutes, the Vols were 2 of 8 from the field, missed seven of 13 free throws, and committed five turnovers.

The near-collapse mirrored Tennessee’s actual collapse against Michigan in the second round of last season’s NCAA Tournament. In that game, they were up 60-54 with 8:27 left, then went 4 of 16 from the field and were outscored 22-9 the rest of the way.

Teams change from one year to the next, or even from one stretch of the season to the next–look at Duke, for example–but there is legitimate reason to have low expectations for Tennessee.

Duke vs Tennessee Prediction and Picks

Prediction for Duke vs Tennessee: Duke to win

Pick for Duke vs Tennessee: Duke -3.5 (Best Value: BetOnline)

Quite often, Duke is saddled with high expectations and more pressure than most teams in the March Madness bracket.

This year is a bit different. They may be considered one of the championship favorites now, but there’s still not the same pressure for this team that there was for, say, last year’s team.

That positions them well to take advantage of a team that hasn’t done much to convince anyone that there won’t be a repeat of last year.

Tennessee may have survived in the first round against the Ragin’ Cajuns, but that near-collapse is rather ominous, especially with how they played down the stretch and Rick Barnes’ unfavorable March Madness history in mind.

Where to Bet on Duke vs Tennessee

Here are four legal sports betting sites that we highly recommend and have reviewed, where you can bet on this year’s NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments, as well as the 2023 NIT.