For the third straight season, the the No. 21 Duke Blue Devils lost three games in ACC play in January. Yet this particular stretch, where Duke went 5-3 with losses to NC State, Florida State and Louisville, felt different. Without coach Mike Krzyzewski, with the Grayson Allen noise, and that bad loss against NC State, the outlook was becoming increasingly grim.

But now with two straight road wins over quality ACC opponents (Wake Forest, Notre Dame), the Blue Devils seem to be hitting their stride with an interesting conference stretch looming. And Coach K is making his return to the bench.

Next up is a floundering Pitt team, which has just one win in conference play and is on a seven-game losing skid.

Here's how you can watch the game on TV or streaming online, along with a scouting report on each team and odds for the game.

Viewing information

When: Saturday, 1 p.m. ET

Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina

TV: CBS

Live stream (computer): Desktop link

Live stream (mobile): CBS Sports App

Scouting report

Duke has a team full of stars. With so many alphas on one team, it feels as if the team is beginning to understand the distribution of roles each player has. As Matt Norlander wrote this week, Duke needs to accept Luke Kennard as its best player. Averaging 23.3 points over the past three games, he has emerged as the team's most effective and efficient scorer. His role is likely to grow even more as March nears and the team embraces him as the No. 1 option.

Kevin Stallings' Panthers rely heavily on scoring production from Jamel Artis and Michael Young, two big-bodied forwards who average more than 20 points per game. The two seniors lead the team in rebounding and blocks. Everything runs through the bigs and the post, so look for Pitt to attack Duke's Amile Jefferson and Jayson Tatum early.

Matchups to watch

Because Pitt's offensive production is heavily reliant on its scoring in the paint, I think the game could be decided with the matchup down low. The Panthers like to muck up the game. Although they score at an efficient rate of 114.2 points per 100 possessions which ranks 34th nationally, its pace is 276th (out of 351) teams. Pitt likes to run a half-court offense, feed the ball into the post and look for opportunities around the rim.

With that formula, Duke will count on big defensive production from Jefferson and Harry Giles. Although Giles has been fairly limited in minutes the past few games because of matchup issues, he could be an X-factor against Pitt's top-heavy front line.

Odds and pick

SportsLine odds: Duke -16

SportsLine projection: Duke 85, Pitt 71

Pick: Duke -16

Outside of Pitt's baffling 55-point blowout loss to Louisville, it has been able to keep three of its past four games within 10 points -- including a near breakthrough against North Carolina on Tuesday. Some of its most competitive games have come on the road. All that to say there's no way Duke let's Pitt hang around at Cameron Indoor in Coach K's return. I'm taking Duke to cover.