Game: Duke Blue Devils at Michigan State Spartans
Date & Time: Tuesday, December 3rd, 2019, 9:30 (EST)
Location: Breslin Center, East Lansing, MI
The Line: Michigan State Spartans -6.5, O/U 147
TV Channel: ESPN
In a huge matchup in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, Duke travels to East Lansing for a date with the Spartans.
Duke Blue Devils at Michigan State Spartans Preview
When Duke vs Michigan State was announced for the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, it looked like it had the potential to be a #1 v #2, goliath matchup. Just a month into the season, it’s still a great matchup, but things have changed.
Michigan State was #1 in the preseason polls for the first time in school history. The expectations may have been too much, as they have already dropped two games to this point. Now, nobody would say that their losses are bad. They lost to Kentucky on opening night, and then Virginia Tech in the opening round in Maui. However, with a preseason #1 ranking, it’s still disappointing.
Duke is not meeting expectations either. They opened their season with a huge win against Kansas, but since then, they lost their first home non-conference game against an unranked opponent since 2000 when they lost to Stephen F. Austin.
Duke is struggling on the offensive end. Lacking the true go-to scorer that they’ve had in recent seasons has been a struggle for them, and that is going to be compounded with the loss of Cassius Stanley for the time being to injury. Much like Duke teams from the past, Coach K is going to have to adapt to survive, and he’s shown the ability to do that in the past. I wouldn’t bet against his track record.
Duke Blue Devils at Michigan State Spartans Key Stats
- Duke’s loss to Stephen F. Austin broke a streak of 150 consecutive victories against unranked non-conference opponents
- Michigan State beat Duke in the Elite 8 last season
- Mike Krzyewski has the most Division 1 wins of all time
Duke Blue Devils at Michigan State Spartans Betting Lines
- The O/U for the game is 147
- Michigan State is a 6.5 point favorite
- Michigan State is -295 on ML, Duke +230
Duke Blue Devils at Michigan State Spartans Prediction
Although it isn’t the matchup we expected, this is still a phenomenal College Basketball game early in the season. With these coaches being two of the best of all time, you can expect both teams to come out strong.
In the end, I think the experience of Michigan State, namely Cassius Winston, will be too much for the Blue Devils. Duke is lacking that go-to scorer, and with the injury to Cassius Stanley, I don’t see how they can compete for a full 40 minutes.
I expect a close game in this one that comes down to about 5 minutes left. Ultimately, Michigan State will close out this game on a run and win this one by about 10. I’m taking Michigan State at -6.5.
