No. 8 North Carolina vs No. 16 Duke (women's): Preview, prediction and odds (Feb. 27th, 2025)

Two teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels and the No. 16 Duke Blue Devils, will face each other on Thursday. The visiting Tar Heels (25-4, 13-3 ACC) have been astounding in conference play, coming off a 79-75 win over No. 25 Louisville on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils' conference play has been great as they continue to show why they're ranked in the AP Top 25. In their last two matchups, Duke (21-7, 12-4) beat the Syracuse Orange 80-49 on Sunday but lost to Louisville 70-62 before that.

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North Carolina vs. Duke: Preview, prediction and odds

Cameron Indoor Stadium in North Carolina will host the showdown between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils. Basketball fans can also catch the action by tuning in to ESPN at 7 p.m. ET.

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North Carolina vs. Duke: Game preview

The Tar Heels average 72.0 points on 43.3% shooting (34.5% from beyond the arc), beating opponents by a margin of 15.6 points per game.

Maria Gakdeng is a player to watch for the Blue Devils' defense. She averages 11.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 61.2% shooting overall. Other players who could help the Tar Heels in this matchup are Alyssa Ustby (10.7 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 3.0 apg), Reniva Kely (10.1 ppg and 2.8 rpg) and Lexi Donarski (10.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg and 1.5 apg).

Duke averages 75.1 points on 45.5% shooting (34.6% from 3-point range) and outscores opponents by 16.4 ppg.

North Carolina's top defensive task would be reducing Toby Fournier's effectiveness. She leads the Blue Devils with 13.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 1.2 bpg on 54% shooting. Two other players who can help Duke are Ashlon Jackson and Oluchi Okananwa. Jackson averages 12.1 ppg and 2.2 rpg, while Okananwa averages 9.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 1.9 spg.

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North Carolina vs. Duke: Prediction

This matchup will be intriguing for both teams vying for a high seed in the ACC's annual conference tournament. Both possess balanced offenses, meaning that defense will play a key role in who decides the victors. However, if North Carolina is unable to have an efficient night with its shooting, it would be reasonable to count the win for the Blue Devils.

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North Carolina vs. Duke: Odds

Moneyline: North Carolina (+210) vs. Duke (-265)

Spread: North Carolina (+5.5) vs. Duke (-5.5)

Total (O/U): North Carolina (o124.5 -115) vs. Duke (u124.5 -105)