Virginia Tech and Duke were short-handed when they met in the regular season, but the ACC rivals will be at full strength on Friday for the rematch with a berth in the Elite 8 at stake. The top-seeded Blue Devils and fourth-seeded Hokies clash in an NCAA Tournament East Regional semifinal, with tipoff scheduled for 9:39 p.m. ET from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The Hokies defeated the Blue Devils 77-72 on Feb. 26 for their third straight home win in the regular-season series. However, Duke was without injured freshman star Zion Williamson, while Virginia Tech played without starting point guard Justin Robinson. Both centerpieces have since returned to their respective lineups. Duke is coming off a thrilling last-second 77-76 win over Central Florida, while Virginia Tech outlasted Liberty 67-58. The Blue Devils are seven-point favorites and the over-under for total points scored is 143 in the latest Duke vs. Virginia Tech odds, down from an open of 145. Before you make any Duke vs. Virginia Tech picks, listen to what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned more than $4,000 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks and entered the postseason on a strong 11-5 run on all top-rated college basketball plays. It's also on fire in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, calling 14 of the Sweet 16 teams straight-up. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now, it has crunched the numbers for Duke vs. Virginia Tech. We can tell you it's leaning over, and it also has generated a point-spread pick that hits well over 50 percent of the time. That pick is only available at SportsLine.

The model knows Duke will be motivated for a dominant performance behind the most celebrated freshman class college basketball has seen in recent memory. The likely one-year Duke careers of Williamson and Barrett nearly came to an end in infamous fashion as they had their hands full against a veteran-laden UCF club that was determined to pull the upset.

Duke made 10 three-pointers, shot 45 percent from the field and held a 36-34 rebounding edge, but was pushed to the brink by the Knights. However, Duke's stars came through when it mattered most. Williamson made a driving basket and drew a foul to close the deficit to 76-75 with 14 seconds left. He missed the free throw, but Barrett gathered the offensive rebound and stuck in a putback. Duke survived two final shots as time expired, including Aubrey Dawkins' attempted tip-in that rimmed out.

Still, a highly motivated Blue Devils squad is no sure thing to cover the Duke vs. Virginia Tech spread in the 2019 Sweet Sixteen against a battle-tested Hokies team that won the regular-season matchup between these programs.

The model also knows the Hokies have reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1967. Last year, an otherwise solid season ended in a first-round loss to Alabama in the NCAA Tournament. Duke once dominated this series, with a 14-1 stretch in ACC play at one point, but the Hokies responded with three straight victories over the Blue Devils on their home floor. 

Virginia Tech managed a 12-6 mark in the ACC despite going most of the way without Robinson. He came off the bench to register nine points and three assists in a first-round win over St. Louis. Robinson made several clutch shots in the second-round victory over stubborn Liberty, as he finished with 13 points and four assists.

Who wins Virginia Tech vs. Duke? And which side of the spread cashes well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Virginia Tech vs. Duke spread you should be all over Friday, all from the model that's up more than $4,000 on top-rated college basketball picks the past two seasons.