Thursday college basketball odds: North Carolina State at No. 4 Duke

Duke’s first loss of the season came to preseason ACC favorite NC State, and this is the Blue Devils’ chance for payback on Thursday night. Duke still has a shot at the ACC regular-season title, while it’s a big long shot for the struggling Wolfpack.

Duke won 79-60 at Florida State on Saturday. Seth Curry scored 21 points, Quinn Cook added 18 and Duke cruised. The Blue Devils were crisp from the opening tip until the final horn, blowing past the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champions with ease. Curry and Cook combined for 39 points and together were 9 of 13 from beyond the 3-point arc. They effectively took Florida State out of the game early with their long-range accuracy.

NC State (16-6, 5-4) has lost two straight and four of five. The Wolfpack lost a crusher 79-78 to ACC-leading Miami on Saturday on Reggie Johnson’s left-handed tip with 0.8 seconds left. C.J. Leslie had 18 points and 12 rebounds despite coming off the bench for an undisclosed disciplinary reason for the Wolfpack, who played without starting point guard Lorenzo Brown due to an ankle injury. N.C. State, the preseason ACC favorite, lost at Maryland 51-50 on a last-second putback on Jan. 16. Its four league losses have come by a combined seven points.

Brown, meanwhile, likely won’t be available on Thursday. He spent the days following his injury in a walking boot, though he shot around during pregame warm-ups in an attempt to play against the Hurricanes. Coach Gottfried said Monday that he thought Brown was still “a few days away” after the Miami game. After playing his best game of the season in a big win over North Carolina — Brown finished with 20 points and 11 assists — Brown was unavailable as the Wolfpack lost nail-biters against Virginia and Miami.

Duke leads the all-time series 139-98, including a 47-23 mark in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has won 14 straight against the Wolfpack in Cameron. Duke is 47-21 against N.C. State under Coach Mike Krzyzewski. Duke has won 27 of the last 30 meetings in the series. N.C. State took the first game this season, 84-76, at PNC Arena. Leslie led N.C. State with 25 points, while Richard Howell recorded a double-double with 16 points and 18 rebounds and Brown scored 12 points with 13 assists. Duke has not lost back-to-back games to N.C. State since the 1994-95 season.

WagerWeb.com trends: Blue Devils are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 vs. Atlantic Coast. Blue Devils are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win. Over is 13-3-1 in the last 17 meetings. Wolfpack are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings. Over is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Duke. Underdog is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.