College men’s basketball: Duke vs. Vermont at 7:10 on Friday

Published 1:08 am Friday, March 22, 2024

By The Associated Press

The No. 13 Duke Blue Devils play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against the Vermont Catamounts . Friday’s meeting is the first this season between the two squads. Duke is 15-6 against the ACC, and Vermont is 18-1 against the America East.

Vermont Catamounts (28-6, 18-1 America East) vs. Duke Blue Devils (24-8, 15-6 ACC)

New York; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Blue Devils -12; over/under is 132

BOTTOM LINE: No. 13 Duke and Vermont meet in the NCAA Tournament first round.

The Blue Devils’ record in ACC games is 15-6, and their record is 9-2 against non-conference opponents. Duke leads the ACC averaging 36.4 points in the paint. Kyle Filipowski leads the Blue Devils with 9.9.

The Catamounts’ record in America East play is 18-1. Vermont ranks second in the America East shooting 34.4% from 3-point range.

Duke makes 48.2% of its shots from the field this season, which is 7.6 percentage points higher than Vermont has allowed to its opponents (40.6%). Vermont has shot at a 45.6% clip from the field this season, 2.4 percentage points greater than the 43.2% shooting opponents of Duke have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Filipowski is averaging 17.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks for the Blue Devils. Jared McCain is averaging 14.9 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Devils: 7-3, averaging 78.0 points, 37.3 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 5.6 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.8 points per game.

Catamounts: 10-0, averaging 71.8 points, 35.9 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.7 points.