No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Michigan State face off on Tuesday night. Who comes out on top in this battle between two college basketball juggernauts?
TV Schedule: Tuesday, Nov. 14, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Arena: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Rarely do we get a matchup to start the college basketball season as we do with the showdown between the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils and No. 2 Michigan Spartans – and I have a feeling that it will not disappoint.
Duke has been on fire to start the 2017-18 season, as the Blue Devils have won both of their games by 29 and 30 points respectively. Even more impressive is that they absolutely demolished a Utah Valley team that led the No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats at halftime.
Marvin Bagley is averaging a double-double with 24.5 points per game and 10 rebounds per game, while Grayson Allen is averaging over 20. Throw in Gary Trent Jr., Trevon Duvall, and Wendell Carter averaging a combined 38.5 points per game, and it makes sense why Duke was the No. 1 team in the country heading into the season.
Related Story: 2017-18 Duke season preview
That being said, Michigan State had a similar dominating start to the season with a 32-point victory over North Florida. All five of their starters scored in double-digits, and Miles Bridges dominated – something that will likely become a trend this season.
Related Story: 2017-18 Michigan State preview
Earlier, I predicted that Duke would fall in this early season matchup but bounce back by going undefeated until, at least, their road game with the North Carolina Tar Heels in February.
I do still believe that the Blue Devils fall to Michigan State, even though this team is firing on all cylinders. There’s just something about this Tom Izzo team that makes me believe that they will win this game at this time – plus Izzo has a history of pulling off upsets on neutral courts.
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Either way, this will be one of the best games of the season and could legitimately be a preview of the 2018 National Championship game.
Prediction: Michigan State 79, Duke 74