The Duke Blue Devils have looked every bit like the No. 1 team in the land through their first two games of the season. Duke has dominated two lesser foes but will face a real test on Tuesday night when it faces the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas is in danger of falling to 0-2 after a season-opening loss to Indiana and desperately needs this one. Whoever wins will get a huge resume booster for when the NCAA Tournament comes around.
This war on the floor will go down Tuesday, November 15, 2016, at 9:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We’ll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Tuesday schedule.
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Duke is off to a hot start with dominant wins over Grand Canyon and Marist to start the season. The Blue Devils outscored these two teams by a combined 80 points and easily covered the 31-point spread against Marist, but the game they played against Grand Canyon didn’t have a line.
Kansas is in worse shape against the number. The Jayhawks were a 6-point favorite in their season opener against Indiana, but failed to cover or even win against a determined Hoosiers side. The 202 points these teams combined for easily went over the total of 154.
Coaching Angle
These are two of the best coaches in the game today and Coach K will likely go down as the best coach ever. He has the best recruiting class he has had in years in Durham and knows how to get the best out of young talent. Coach K has won five national titles, three gold medals, and went to 12 Final Fours. He is the only coach in the history of college basketball with over 1000 career wins and could also become the only coach with 1000 wins at a school with 30 more wins this year.
Across the court from him will be Bill Self. Self has only won one national title, but has won 12 consecutive Big 12 titles and consistently has his team among the best in the nation. He likes to get his teams to press on defense and will likely employ the press against a very young Duke squad.
Matchup to Watch
This will be a battle of experience versus talent. In one corner, you have one of the most experienced teams in the country in the Jayhawks. Frank Lucas III and Deonte’ Graham make up one of the most seasoned backcourts in the nation and Kansas only has one freshman that played significant minutes in its first game of the year.
That is juxtaposed with a Duke team that has three freshmen who are all expected to see significant minutes. Although the Blue Devils are loaded with older talent, like Grayson Allen and Amile Jefferson, the most talented guys are the young guns and they should see plenty of minutes. Depth killed this team last season but that is no longer an issue and Coach K should get his guys plenty of time on the court.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Duke is the favorite of almost everyone to win the whole thing this year and it’s easy to see why. The Blue Devils are absolutely loaded and have a good mix of veterans and newcomers that are all insanely skilled. This team won’t lose many ball games this season, but if it has a weakness so far, it might be poor free throw shooting.
Kansas is going to drop to 0-2 after this one. The Jayhawks will have a much better chance than most to knock off Duke, but the Blue Devils will be able to pull away in the end as Mason and company run out of gas.
College Basketball Odds: Duke 85, Kansas 77
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