Pick #18….Duke -3.5 (-110) BetMGM

March Madness is all about momentum and while the Blue Devils are red-hot, the Volunteers have struggled after a terrific start to their campaign. Duke is on a 10-game winning streak and fresh off an impressive 23-point win against a dangerous Oral Roberts team in the first round. 

An end-of-season improvement wasn't completely unexpected for the Blue Devils who entered this season as national title contenders but were extremely inexperienced. With four freshmen starters and another serving as sixth man, this squad had growing pains but is starting to put it together and gel at the right time.

Meanwhile, Tennessee is trending in the opposite direction going 6-7 straight up and 4-9 against the spread since the start of February. At the end of January, the Volunteers were the highest-rated team in the country according to Bart Torvik, ranking 31st in adjusted offensive efficiency (111.7) and first in adjusted defensive efficiency (81.7). 

Since then their adjusted offensive efficiency has dipped to 108.9 (106th in the country), while their adjusted defensive efficiency has ticked up to 91.5. 

Add in a season-ending injury to point guard Zakai Zeigler (10.7 points and a team-high 5.4 assists per game) a few weeks ago and it's easy to see why this No. 4 seed is extremely vulnerable. 

The Vols didn't look good in their first-round matchup against Louisiana either, almost squandering their lead and holding on to win by just three points as 11.5-point favorites. 

Time and time again we've seen that highly seeded teams that struggle on one end of the floor don't last long in the tourney. As good as Tennessee is on defense, it hasn't been dominant enough to make up for an awful offense which should lead to a win and cover for a more balanced Duke side.