#1 Duke Blue Devils vs #2 Michigan State Spartans: Free NCAAB Pick, 11–14–2017
Free College Basketball Spread Pick by David Price of BetSheet.com
Duke Blue Devils vs Michigan State Spartans
Odds: Michigan State +2
Time: November 14th, 7:00 PM EST
Duke Blue Devils (2–0)
The preseason consensus #1 ranked Duke Blue Devils had little trouble with their first couple of games beating Elon, 97–68 and Utah Valley, 99–69. Tonight, they jump right into a top ranked matchup vs the #2 Michigan State Spartans at the United Center in Chicago for the Champions Classic.
Duke is lead by senior guard, Grayson Allen who is averaging 20 points through the first two games. The Blue Devils have four true freshmen that are considered first-round picks in next season’s NBA draft. These freshmen are led by Marvin Bagley III; the 6–11 forward was a top ten recruit coming out of Highschool and set a Duke record by scoring 25 points in his debut against Elon.
The backcourt features the nation’s top point guard recruit, Trevon Duval and top shooting guard recruit, Gary Trent, Jr. Duke also has power forward Wendell Carter Jr. who won the Morgan Wootten national high school player of the year.
Coach K is fresh off his 1,000 victory at Duke and 1,073 total victories. He’ll face off against another Hall of Fame coach, Tom Izzo.
Michigan State Spartans (1–0)
The Spartans are coming into one of their most anticipated seasons in a long time; they are the preseason consensus №2 because of their experience and talent. MSU is led by returning sophomore Miles Bridges who led the team in scoring and rebounds. The 6–7 forward was second-team All-American honors and averaged 16.9 points per and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Michigan State also has top recruit Jaren Jackson, Jr., who is projected to be an NBA lottery pick. The Spartans have an experienced backcourt with sophomore guard Cassius Winston and Senior guard Lourawls Nairn Jr who combined for over 300 assists last season.
Michigan State was picked to finish first in the Big Ten in the preseason media poll. They return four starters and also feature a deep bench and are regarded as a Final Four favorite for good reason. Last season they averaged 71.9 points which is an area they hope to improve upon to beat the likes of the nations top teams, such as Duke.
Duke vs Michigan State Prediction
What is David Price Predicting?
This is what makes college basketball such an intriguing sport to bet, the #1 ranked team vs the #2 ranked team playing this early in the season. It will be a tough test for both teams. Duke is very talented but very young and will still need time for the players to gel. Michigan State is also very talented and have some returning players with experience but they need more offensive production from players other than Miles Bridges.
Coach K has owned this matchup beating Michigan State 8 out of the last 9 times and the Blue Devils are 3–1 ATS the last four matchups. Michigan State has more experience which is very valuable playing vs top ranked teams. However, I give a slight edge in talent to Duke. The biggest question I have with the Blue Devils is whether Duke’s young stars are ready to take on a top ranked team? The biggest question I have with MSU is whether they have the offensive firepower to keep up with Duke’s high pressure defense?
This should be a close back and forth game and I see Michigan State jumping out to an early lead. However, once the Duke freshman settle into the game, they may prove to be too much for Sparty. I like Duke in a close game to cover the -2 point spread.
Duke vs Michigan State Prediction: Duke -2
