CSU Fullerton vs. Duke Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The final NCAA Tournament in the Hall of Fame career of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski begins Friday night from the West Region as the No. 2 Blue Devils face No. 15 Cal State Fullerton. Duke is an 18.5-point favourite to win on the college basketball odds.
CSU Fullerton vs. Duke Blue NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The winner of this West Region matchup between No. 15 Cal State Fullerton and No. 2 Duke from Greenville, S.C., will play either No. 7 Michigan State or No. 10 Davidson on Sunday from the same location – playing in South Carolina is a huge advantage for Duke.
No. 15 seeds have just nine wins in 144 games against a No. 2 since 1985. One of those involves Duke as the Blue Devils were stunned by No. 15 Lehigh 75-70 in 2012. Duke also nearly lost to No. 15 Belmont in 2008. There was one last year as well with Oral Roberts knocking off No. 2 Ohio State 75-72. Only two No. 15 seeds have advanced past the second round: Oral Roberts last year and Florida Gulf Coast in 2013.
It’s the first-ever meeting between Cal State Fullerton and Duke, which is 4-0 all-time against Big West teams. To win the West, the Titans are +12300 and the Blue Devils +373.
CSU Fullerton Titans (15)
Cal State Fullerton (21-10) used to be known for a powerhouse baseball program that won the national championship four times. It’s the basketball team’s fourth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2018. The school’s only two Big Dance wins came in 1978. This year’s Titans finished second in the Big West regular-season standings but knocked off champion Long Beach State 72-71 last Saturday in the conference tournament title game — Fullerton was picked to finish seventh in the Big West Conference preseason coaches’ poll and eighth in the media poll.
Dedrique Taylor has become the first coach in program history to lead the Titans to the NCAA Tournament twice. The team’s best player by far is E.J. Anosike, who was Big West Newcomer of the Year while also named first-team all-conference. The Tennessee transfer leads the team in scoring (16.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg). CSU Fullerton didn’t face a power conference school like Duke this season. The Titans are 5-1 ATS in their past six as dogs.
Duke Blue Devils (2)
They may not say it publicly, but NCAA officials and their TV partners for the Big Dance want Duke (28-6) to reach the title game simply because of the storyline factor of it being the final tournament in Krzyzewski’s Hall of Fame career. If he’s not the best college basketball coach ever, then he’s 1B with John Wooden. Assistant Jon Scheyer will take over starting next season. It’s Duke’s 44th NCAA Tournament appearance and 36th under Krzyzewski, breaking a tie with Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim for most appearances by a head coach. Coach K’s 97 tournament wins are by far the most. Duke has been a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in 20 of its last 24 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1997.
The Blue Devils were ACC regular-season champions but lost in the conference tournament final to Virginia Tech. Freshman forward Paolo Banchero leads the team in scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg) and might be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Duke is 0-6 ATS in its past six NCAA Tournament games.
