Louisville at Duke NCAAB Odds & Betting Tips

Louisville’s season took a turn once ACC play started with 3 of their 5 losses taking place in 5 games since the start of January, including one at home to Duke a few weeks ago. After taking a week off following a 30-point romp over Stanford, the Blue Devils have a quick turnaround with this matchup their second in three nights. Young legs can withstand that ordeal, though.

Louisville at Duke Preview

The second of two meetings between the Louisville Cardinals and Duke Blue Devils takes place on Monday, January 26, 2026 from Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET with the game televised on ESPN. Duke won the first contest 84-73 on Jan. 6 covering the 1.5-point spread

Public Betting Odds Factors

The Cardinals also had a week off heading into their mini break off a feel good 100-59 win over Pitt. One of the top offensive teams in the country endured a slump during a 4-game stretch prior to the Pitt game scoring no more than 76 points and going 1-3.

Louisville entered that 4-game stretch scoring more than 90 points per game but averaged just 73.5, cashing the UNDER in all 4 games. The Cards lone win was against BC, a team at the bottom of the ACC standings, where they failed to cover the 20.5-point college basketball spread. The Cards went 0-4 ATS.

Taking out their frustration against an out-manned Pitt squad, the Cardinals never let up. They scored the first 13 points, had a 31 point lead at halftime and reached 100 points for the fifth time this season.

The loss of 5-star freshman guard Mikel Brown has impacted Louisville more than they could have known. Brown missed the Pitt game, his 8th straight, and the offense has floundered. The Cards are 4-4 in those games. Offensive efficiency has plummeted and turnovers increased, and there’s no timetable for Brown’s return.

It’s hard to imagine Duke being any better, but the emergence of Isaiah Evans as a perimeter scoring threat has done just that. Prior to the game against Florida State on Jan. 3, Evans had 1 career 20-point game. He had the first of 3 straight games with more than 20 points tallying 28 in the 91-87 win over FSU.

In 5 games since the start of January Evans is averaging nearly 21 points helping to balance the offense along with Cameron Boozer’s dominant inside game. Boozer is the 4th leading scorer in the country with 23.2 points per game while shooting almost 59 percent from the floor.

Duke has failed to get a payout in its last 5 home games.

Louisville at Duke Predictions

At times Louisville has looked lost without Brown running the offense. And it doesn’t appear as though the floor leader is going to be back anytime soon. According to kenpom.com Duke has the 3rd best net rating and 5th best defensive rating in college basketball. And the Blue Devils are pretty good on offense, too. The Cards couldn’t contain Boozer and Evans at home and they aren’t going to do it inside Cameron.

Louisville at Duke Betting Tips

Despite both teams playing their second game in 3 nights they should be well rested after having the previous week off. And it’s an advantage for Duke playing at home and not having to travel.

Following a stretch where they had one payout in 7 games, Duke is 3-1 ATS following a Northern California sweep of Cal and Stanford by a combined 45 points.