Duke vs. Michigan State: College Basketball Odds & Picks (Tuesday)
After a fun week of college hoops, we keep rolling along with the Champions Classic tonight and Gavitt Games underway. James Madison stole the spotlight in week one, finding themselves inside the AP Top 25 but other teams impressed too. Tennessee sits as a title contender and Purdue has shown their ability to move on from last year's early tournament defeat. There are plenty of solid games tonight so let's get to it. Here are my best bets for Tuesday's slate. Below we dive into Duke vs. Michigan State.
You can follow all my bets on my BettingPros profile as I add last-minute bets and player props once they drop.
Tuesday's Top College Basketball Picks & Predictions: Duke vs. Michigan State
- Last Time: 2-0
- Season: 5-2
Duke vs. Michigan State
For two teams that both could have been considered title contenders in the preseason, one of these two teams will find themselves 1-2 after tonight's affair. Duke's loss came to another title contender in Arizona but Michigan State's loss was a little more considering they were a double-digit favorite against James Madison. Duke sits anywhere between 2.5 to 3.5 point favorite with a total hovering around 143.
A big reason the Blue Devils couldn't take down Arizona was their inability to rebound. They allowed 15 offensive boards to the Wildcats and currently rank 306th in offensive rebound rate and 218th in defensive boards. If they hope to win, the Blue Devils have to shore up their rebounding woes.
Sparty has had some pretty abysmal shooting luck so far, making just 6.5 percent of their perimeter shots. This is due for positive regression but how much can you trust their offense right now?
There is going to be a lot of interior scoring tonight with both teams scoring over 61 percent of their points from inside the arc so far. Both teams are slower than average and can lean on their defense when their scoring is lacking. What Michigan State and Duke have excelled at this year, and in recent years, is limiting transition points and second-chance opportunities. For this number to get to the total, both teams will have to be efficient on their first looks and shoot well from deep.
I don't see how this number gets to 140. Playing on a neutral court, Michigan State's perimeter shooting will probably continue to struggle and Duke's offense is still gelling together. The under is the play here.
Play: Under 143.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
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