15* Duke/UNC ESPN Late-Night BAILOUT on North Carolina -1.5

Duke vs. North Carolina, 03/09/2013 21:00 EDT, Score: 69 - 53

Point Spread: -1½/-106 North Carolina

Sportsbook: Pinnacle

Result: Loss

The North Carolina Tar Heels want revenge from a 68-73 loss at Duke as a 10.5-point underdog in their first meeting of the season on February 9th. I look for them to have their payback at home this time around as these Tobacco Road rivals square off Saturday night on ESPN at 9:00 EST.

North Carolina has been playing its best basketball of the season since that loss to Duke. It has gone a perfect 6-0 SU & 6-0 ATS in six games since with all six victories coming by 9 points or more. The Tar Heels won road games at Georgia Tech (70-58), Clemson (68-59), and Maryland (79-68), while also beating Virginia (93-81), NC State (76-65) and Florida State (77-58) at home during this stretch.

The Tar Heels are a sensational 14-1 SU & 10-3 ATS at home this season. They are outscoring opponents by a whopping 15.0 points/game at home this year. Their only home loss came to current ACC leader Miami, which obviously looking back really isn't that bad of a defeat.

Duke is only 4-4 on the road this season. It has road losses to NC State (76-84), Miami (63-90), Maryland (81-83) and Virginia (68-73). This is only a mediocre Blue Devils team when they get away from Cameron Indoor.

Duke is 0-6 ATS in road games off a home win against a conference rival this season. UNC is 8-0 ATS in home games versus very good teams - outscoring their opponents by 8+ points/game after 15+ games over the last 3 seasons. The Blue Devils are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. The Tar Heels are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games overall. UNC is 4-0 ATS in its last 4 home games. These four trends combine for a perfect 25-0 system backing the Tar Heels. Roll with North Carolina Saturday.