2018 March Madness First Round Betting Preview: Duke vs. Iona

The 2-seed and the 15-seed in the Midwest Region square off on Thursday afternoon as the Duke Blue Devils and the Iona Gaels tangle in Pittsburgh. Iona now has won three straight MAAC Championships, thanks to their elimination of Fairfield in the conference tournament final. Duke earned the #2 seed in the ACC Tournament but lost to North Carolina, 74-69, failing to reach the final. Duke is one of the favorites to win the Big Dance, but first they have to get past Iona. Check out our First Four betting preview of this first-round action.

2018 March Madness First Round Betting Preview: Duke vs. Iona

🎥 RDU ✈️ PIT#HereComesDuke pic.twitter.com/tgf8APA0Nf

— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 14, 2018

When: Thursday, March 15, 2018, 2:45pm ET Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh TV: CBS Radio: None Live Stream: March Madness Live 2018 First Round Betting Odds: Duke -20

Why should you bet on the Blue Devils?

The fact that Duke finished second in such a tough ACC slate is a real accomplishment. They were a buzzer-beater away from forcing overtime against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, as Grayson Allen’s three-pointer came up just short. The team shot just 40.7% from the field in the loss, including going just 6 for 23 from downtown. The return of Marvin Bagley III has energized the Blue Devils; he put up 19 points and 13 rebounds in the loss. On the season, Duke has shot much better (49.3%) and scored in bunches, putting up 84.7 points per game. Bagley (21.1 points per game) has been the leading scorer, with Allen (15.7 points per game), Gary Trent Jr. (14.3) and Wendell Carter (13.8) also averaging double figures. The Duke defense has permitted just 69.6 points per game, and they outrebound the opposition by almost nine boards a game. Duke ranks eighth overall in scoring offense and 15th in field goal percentage. Since they went to a zone scheme on defense, they have really improved as far as allowing the opposition to get to the rim. They have covered the spread in seven of their last nine games overall.

Why should you put your money on the Gaels?

Iona is one of the better teams from the free-throw line; in the MAAC Championship, they converted 85.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. Roland Griffin was the team’s leading scorer in that game, putting up 29 points, grabbing eight rebounds, swatting four shots and dealing out one assist. The Gaels have a fairly dynamic offense, putting up 79.8 points per game, and averaging almost 10 three-balls per contest. Rickey McGill has been the team’s leading scorer with 13.5 points per game, followed by E.J. Crawford (12.9) and Griffin (10.9). On the defensive side of things, Iona does give up a lot of points, permitting 76.2 points per contest, and they get outrebounded by almost four boards per game. That’s going to have to change for Iona to have a chance to cover, let alone win. Iona has covered the spread in five of their last six games against ACC opponents. However, in their last five NCAA Tournament games, they haven’t covered the spread in any of them. They rank just 273rd in the nation in scoring defense, and while they did cruise to the win in the MAAC Tournament, they had lost four of six going down the stretch in the regular season.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

Does Duke make a statement here, after losing for the second time to North Carolina this season? Or do the Gaels make a stand and push Duke hard? That Iona defense may have stiffened enough to bring home a MAAC title, but I just don’t see any other outcome besides Duke scoring at will. Iona will drain some threes and get some easy baskets in transition, but I don’t see how they stay close. I predict a final score of Duke 85, Iona 60.