Duke Blue Devils vs Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Predictions: Post Play Pivotal
It's the first big event of the college basketball calendar, as the Kansas Jayhawks take on the Duke Blue Devils in game 2 of the Champions Classic tonight in Indianapolis. Both teams have looked good in their two games so far this season, but tonight will be the first test for either against a quality opponent.
With Duke welcoming in a new head coach this season and Kansas without their hall of fame coach due to self-imposed suspension, how much will these teams look like the ones we are accustomed to? How much of what we see tonight will be replicated throughout the season? Who will have the biggest growing pains tonight?
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Kyle Davis
Check out our Duke Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.
Derek Noll
I’d expect nothing less than an early season top ten matchup in the Champions Classic, and this could be a battle of contrasts. Duke boasts one of the nation’s deepest front courts (but they’re young) while Kansas can flood the court with guard after guard after small forward after guard. And the coaching matchup between the experienced Norm Roberts and newbie Jon Scheyer coaching only his second game, will also be something to watch. In the end, I’ll take Kansas to prevail in a tight one.
Kansas 77, Duke 73.
Lucas Murphy
The Kansas Jayhawks will head to Indianapolis, Indiana to participate in their 12th State Farm Champions Classic. Their first matchup is No. 7, the Duke Blue Devils. This game is going to be a true test for Kansas. Duke offers up size with multiple players standing at 7’0”. So far this season the Blue Devils are led by a local product, freshman Mark Mitchell from Kansas City, Kansas. Mitchell is averaging 15.5 points per game. I am going to be looking at how the Jayhawks play against size. The Jayhawks often run small and look to move the ball quickly. Kansas also had multiple upperclassmen that have experience which could help in the Jayhawks' favor. I expect Jalon Wilson to shine in this game and be the leader of this team. Dajuan Harris will lead both teams in assists, and Gradey Dick is going to hit some key 3’s.
Kansas 82, Duke 78
Brendan Dzwierzynski
It’s so hard to guess how the Champions Classic will unfold year to year. How much do we really know about Kansas? How much do we really know about Duke? I’ll keep beating this dead horse, but I’m worried about KU’s post presence in this matchup given the Jayhawks’ inexperience with Udeh and lack of size with Adams. I’ll take Kansas, but truthfully I would have little confidence in taking either team in this toss-up matchup.
Kansas 72, Duke 71.
Andy Mitts
It's the first real test for either of these teams, and that makes it a lot harder to figure out what to actually expect. But everything I've seen from Jalen Wilson, Kevin McCullar and Gradey Dick make me think they will be up to the task. The biggest question is the play inside. We have seen a rotation of Ernest Udeh, KJ Adams, Zach Clemence, Zuby Ejiofor and even MJ Rice play down low for the Jayhawks, and it's hard to say that any of them have shown the ability to stand up to a true big man yet defensively.
Look for Duke to press their advantage down low, but the combination of Wilson and McCullar pressuring on defense and Dick and Wilson lighting it up offensively should pull the Jayhawks to a win.
Kansas 81, Duke 74.
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