Louisville vs Duke Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s College Basketball Game

Two of the best offenses in the ACC do battle on Monday night when the Louisville Cardinals travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face the Duke Blue Devils.

Both teams are led by exciting freshmen in Mikel Brown Jr. and Cameron Boozer. But my Louisville vs. Duke predictions and college basketball picks for Monday, January 26 are focusing on Boozer’s frontcourt mate, Patrick Ngongba II.

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Louisville vs Duke prediction

Louisville vs Duke best bet: Patrick Ngongba II Over 9.5 points (-120)

When the Duke Blue Devils and Louisville Cardinals met a few weeks ago, Duke starting center Patrick Ngongba II was involved in one of the more bizarre calls of the season.

Midway through the first half, he and Louisville’s Kasean Pryor were each slapped with technical fouls as the two teams returned to the floor following a timeout. Seconds later, the big man picked up his third foul and was done for some time.

He ended up playing just 10 minutes in that game, scoring a season-low four points and attempting just four shots.

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Given the extra motivation, I love getting his scoring total at 9.5 points. This is a great matchup for him against a Louisville defense that has shown it can be pushed around inside by physical frontcourts.

With the attention the Cardinals will have to pay towards Cameron Boozer, it’s unlikely they will afford any help defense. And Ngongba has shown the ability to win those one-on-one matchups.

Not only is he posting a 65.7% eFG% on the year, but he gets to the charity stripe often behind an eye-popping 75.7% free-throw rate. That’s problematic for Louisville, which ranks 154th in sending players to the foul line.

The Blue Devils attempt more than 44% of their shots from close range, and getting to the rim will be their focus against the Cardinals. And in the four games since their prior meeting, he’s averaged 12.8 points.

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Look for Ngongba to have a double-digit scoring night at Cameron Indoor, where his scoring average is more than…

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Publish date : 2026-01-26 15:35:00

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