Vegas Play of the Day: Duke at Pitt

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, Jan. 27, 2014 | 8:48 a.m.

Here’s the latest installment of the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point.

Our three sports writers started with a $10,000 bankroll — fictional, of course.

Duke plus-4 at Pittsburgh: $550 to win $500 :

I always like getting points with the better team. While Pittsburgh is a perfect 14-0 at home and its Oakland Zoo student section always impacts the game, I just don’t see Pitt winning, let alone covering. I would have set the line as Duke being a small favorite.

Pittsburgh’s strength of schedule is No. 68, which partially explains its 18-2 record and undefeated mark at home. In its two most-challenging games, at Syracuse and at Cincinnati, Pitt lost both in closely-contested affairs. That means they could potentially struggle late in a tight game, which this is expected to be.

Duke leads the ACC is scoring at 81.6 points per game, has a 16-4 record and No. 17 strength of schedule. But it relies on younger players and is just 1-2 in conference road games, including two-point defeats at Clemson and Notre Dame — teams not as talented or accomplished as Pitt.

Bottom line, this game should come down to the wire. I’ll take four points and enjoy the back-and-forth affair.

Standings: Bern (3-3, $9,840), Brewer (2-3-1, $9,470), Keefer (2-6, $8,457.50)

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.