NCAA Tournament: Opening odds, TV info, tip time for Arizona’s Sweet 16 matchup vs. Duke

In the past two seasons, Arizona and Duke have faced off on each other’s home courts, both pulling out a road victory with Duke’s win in Tucson coming back in November.

It’s been a little longer since they’ve met in the NCAA Tournament—14 years, to be exact—but now the Wildcats and Blue Devils will square off for a spot in the Elite Eight. And like the last time that scenario played out, the UA will be a sizable underdog.

Fourth-seeded Arizona (24-12) has opened as a 9.5-point underdog against top-seeded Duke (33-3), per FanDuel Sportsbook, for Thursday’s East Region semifinal in Newark, N.J., with an initial over/under of 152.5. KenPom.com projects an 81-73 win for the Blue Devils, giving the UA a 22 percent chance of victory.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:39 p.m. PT and air on CBS, though its actual start time will depend on when the first East Region semifinal between No. 2 Alabama and No. 6 BYU is over.

The 9.5-point spread would be the largest Arizona has been an underdog since 2018 and the biggest dog in the NCAA Tournament since 2011 when it was a 9.5-point dog against Duke in the 2011 Sweet 16 in Anaheim. The Wildcats won that game 93-77 behind a monster performance from Derrick Williams.

Arizona hasn’t been an underdog in the NCAA tourney since 2013 when Ohio State was a 3.5-point and won that Sweet 16 game by three. Since 1996 the Wildcats are 12-5 against the spread as a tourney dog, winning seven straight up with the Duke matchup in 2011 the last time that happened.

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