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College Basketball: ACC and Big East Titles at Stake

  • Al Dannity's Author profile. Al Dannity

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The final weekend of College Basketball’s regular season sees two of its biggest prizes decided. Pittsburgh have a chance to claim the Big East title outright while Duke and North Carolina will do battle to decide the fate of the ACC crown.

Decision day in the Dean Dome
The two greatest rivals in College Basketball meet with the ACC title on the line this Saturday. Duke, having entered the season and National Championship favorites, are tied with UNC at 13-2 in the ACC. The Blue Devils came from behind to win when these sides met four weeks ago but the Tar Heels have home court advantage this time around.

North Carolina have won all six of their games since then but have been less than convincing in the process. Against the weakest ACC field in years, the Tar Heels eked out narrow victories over Clemson, Boston College, and Florida State en route to Saturday’s game. Duke, for their part, dropped a road decision at Virginia Tech to lose the outright lead in the conference.

The Tar Heels have a clear advantage on the boards but if Duke can hold their own in the rebounding stakes, then the defending national champions should roll to a big road win. For all the talent on Roy Williams’ roster, the Tar Heels still look like a work in progress. I like Duke’s superiority in shooting to come through and secure the ACC title for the Blue Devils.

Pitt can finish the job
After a comfortable win at USF midweek, the Panthers need to just beat Villanova to claim the Big East title outright. College Basketball betting fans know that Pitt enter this home clash safe in the knowledge that they are guaranteed at least a share of the conference title. A loss for Notre Dame at UConn or a win for Pittsburgh over the Wildcats would be enough to secure the Panthers first outright Big East championship since 2004.

Having suffered just one home defeat all year, it’s tough to see anything other than a Pitt victory in this game. The Wildcats are currently mired in an end-of-year slump and match-up poorly in pretty much every department. This should be a comfortable end to the regular season for Pitt. Look for Pittsburgh to take sole possession of the Big East title on Saturday.