Duke vs Xavier: 2022 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

It’s Duke against Xavier for a spot in the finals of the PK Legacy bracket. Can the Blue Devils recover from its near-upset to beat the Musketeers?

TV schedule: Friday, November 25th, 3:30 pm ET. ESPN

Arena: Moda Center in Portland, Oregon

It was supposed to be an easy opening matchup for Duke (5-1), taking on the lowly Oregon State Beavers, potentially the worst power conference team in teams of talent this season. But a combination of poor guard play and a feisty Beavers’ opposition made it a close game for all 40 minutes.

In the end, forwards Ryan Young and Kyle Filipowski were the reasons why the Blue Devils were able to survive with a 54-51 win. The bigs combined for 30 points and 29 rebounds and had nine of the team’s 16 field goal makes. As I said before, the guards struggled, with starters Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor combined for 12 points on 4/21 shooting.

Against any other power conference team, Duke would’ve gotten blown off the floor. But now they take on a more serious opponent in Xavier (4-1). They took on Florida in an evenly matched battle and it was that way for most of the contest until the Musketeers pulled ahead for the 90-83 victory.

All five starters were in double figures, led by 22 points each from Souley Boum and Colby Jones. It’s a career-high number of Jones, who also had five rebounds and four assists in the win. The frontcourt duo of Zach Freemantle had a good night inside, combining to go for 30 points and 20 rebounds.

That’s going to be a key matchup in the upcoming game because Xavier has the bodies inside to not get overwhelmed. And unless the perimeter players improve, then Duke could be the underdog. Ultimately, I’m not as concerned that the Blue Devils will have back-to-back awful shooting nights from deep and defensively, they should make the Musketeer guards really work for it. It should be a fun game but for now, I’m going with Duke.

Prediction: Duke 73, Xavier 67