Louisville basketball has a huge showdown with the Duke Blue Devils this evening on the road inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Cards and the Blue Devils met earlier this month, when Duke secured its eighth straight win over Louisville, including its third since Pat Kelsey took over.
The Cardinals were expected to be underdogs in this matchup as Duke is 18-1 and 7-0 in ACC play, but the line continues to shift, and not in the Cards' favor. Louisville opened as a 6.5-point underdog against the Blue Devils, and the line moved to 7.5 last night. Now, the line has moved once more this afternoon, and again, not in a good way for Cardinals fans.
Related: Mikel Brown Jr.’s return sparks Louisville's climb in AP Polls ahead of Duke showdown
Louisville vs Duke betting line continues to move
The Cardinals fans are beginning to notice the betting line is changing just hours before tipoff, as the new line has moved to 8.5 in favor of the Duke Blue Devils, according to FanDuel. ESPN Analytics hasn’t changed its game predictor, giving Duke a dominant 77.3 percent chance of winning and the Cardinals just a 22.7 percent chance of pulling off the upset.
Louisville lost the first matchup after giving up 46 points in the second half, falling 84-73. Louisville showed promise in the first half, leading by 12 at one point and by nine at halftime. However, if the Cardinals want to avoid a half like the second one in the first game, Louisville must learn to make in-game adjustments. The Cardinals have led at halftime against Duke in all three games under Pat Kelsey, but have lost by 11 points in each.
The Cardinals will have Mikel Brown Jr. for this marquee matchup after he made his return to the court on Saturday. Louisville is 10-1 when Brown plays and has already earned two wins over ranked teams with him on the floor. The former 5-star gives this Cardinals team a legitimate chance this evening as he is the engine of this team. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard has incredible range from beyond the arc, but is also an elite playmaker who sets up open looks for Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely.
If Louisville wants to pull off this huge upset this evening, Brown will have to have a game as he did against Kentucky when he scored 29 points on 50 percent shooting, while adding five assists and only turning the ball over one time. Louisville and Duke will tip off from Cameron Indoor Stadium this evening at 7 p.m. local time.
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