Duke travels to face Syracuse on Saturday, and they will be without star forward Zion Williamson following his freak knee injury suffered on Wednesday against North Carolina. The injury looked bad when he blew out his shoe, but he is listed as day-to-day with a grade 1 knee sprain.
The impact of Zion Williamson’s injury on the point spread for Duke moving forward
The star forward is day-to-day and will miss at least two games following his knee injury.
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Although the Blue Devils will be without their start, they still opened as a 5.5-point favorite over the Orange. The line has come down to 4.5 points at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. The drop in the line has brought in a sizable amount of money for Duke. Currently, 59 percent of the money wagered is on the Blue Devils.
Sportsbooks will make point spread adjustments when notable players get hurt, and they don’t get much more notable than Williamson. He is expected to be the No. 1 pick, and while Duke remains the national title favorite, lines are adjusting.
The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag have Williamson worth six points, which means Duke could very well be a double digit road favorite against Syracuse had the forward been healthy. The head linesman at BetDSI said the value depends on the opponent — with it being anywhere from two to five points. Oddsmaker at Caesar’s Palace have Williamson worth four or five points, depending on the opponent.
The bigger question for Duke is whether or not Williamson will return between now and the end of the NCAA tournament. You can get odds on that at BetOnline.ag as follows:
Regular Season: 3/2
ACC Tournament: 7/4
NCAA Tournament: 5/2
Does not return this Season: 11/4
