The nightcap of the State Farm Champions Classic to kick off the men’s college basketball season features two top-10 teams as No. 9 Duke faces No. 10 Kentucky. The game begins the Coach Mike Krzyzewski farewell tour for the Blue Devils as both teams look to bounce back from disappointing 2020-21 seasons.
Tuesday’s tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and the game will be televised by ESPN.
In the decade of the Champions Classic, these teams have met three times, with Duke winning in Atlanta (2012) and Indianapolis (2018) while Kentucky won in Chicago (2015). Overall the Wildcats lead the series 12-10, and each of the last eight matchups have come on a neutral site, including two NCAA Tournament games. Coach K is 3-1 against John Calipari, including a win while the latter was at Memphis, and he is 6-2 against Kentucky.
Duke Loaded with Post Players
The Blue Devils went 13-11 last year with a 9-9 record in the ACC, and they missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995. All three players who scored in double figures last season are gone, Matt Hurt and DJ Steward to the G League, and Jalen Johnson left during the 2020-21 season and is now in the NBA. Forward Wendell Moore Jr. is the top returning scorer at 9.7 points per game, while transfer Theo John averaged 8.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg at Marquette last season.
With this being Coach K’s final season, the Blue Devils went all-in with a top-notch recruiting class. They have three McDonald’s All-Americans as freshmen, with Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin, and Trevor Keels. The fourth freshman is a four-star recruit in Jaylen Blakes, and the freshmen all logged at least 17 minutes in Duke’s exhibition game last week.
Banchero had 21 points and nine rebounds in that win over Winston-Salem State. Sophomores Jeremy Roach and Mark Williams joined Banchero, Moore, and Keels in the starting lineup. Williams averaged 7.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg last season, while Roach averaged 8.7 ppg.
Wildcats Full of New Faces
After a disastrous 9-16 season, their worst since 1927, Calipari hit the transfer portal to rejuvenate his squad. The Wildcats have six transfers on this year’s roster to go with four newcomers, and they boast more than 5000 career points. While they haven’t played much together, the Wildcats do boast 13,385 Division 1 minutes of experience, the most by any NCAA team in the last 50 years.
TyTy Washington is the freshman getting all the headlines for the Wildcats, while Texas native Damion Collins was a McDonald’s All-American. Bryce Hopkins is also a four-star freshman on the roster for Calipari.
Kentucky adds guard Kelian Grady, a graduate student transfer from Davidson, forward Oscar Tshiebew from West Virginia, guard Sahvir Wheeler from Georgia, and CJ Fredrick from Iowa. Wheeler, Grady, and Tshiebwe are expected to join freshmen Brooks and Washington in the starting lineup against Duke. Wheeler and Washington both had 15 points in the most recent exhibition game, while Grady scored 13.
Betting Analysis
- Duke Blue Devils -1.5 (-105). Money line -115
- Kentucky Wildcats +1.5 (-115). Money line -105
- Total Points: 148.5. Over -110. Under -110
Duke has the size advantage in this one, but Kentucky has the better guards, shooters, and more speed. Kentucky has the experience factor as well though playing in an NBA arena can often time lead to lower scoring games. Duke tends to hit the ground running while it oftentimes takes Calipari’s team a few games to find themselves, especially with this many newcomers.
Betting Pick: Duke -1.5 (-105)
For more NCAAB betting picks and previews, check out our picks page.