The Kentucky Wildcats have their first huge matchup of the season against the Duke Blue Devils in the State Farm Champions Classic on Tuesday, November 12. Both teams have only really played "tune-up" games, no matter how much both coaches deny it. This will be a fascinating matchup as both teams have their eyes on a deep run in college basketball.
This week, I spoke with the Duke site expert for Fansided, Hugh Straine, who runs the site BallDurham.com. I wanted to hear how he thought the game would go and what to expect from the Blue Devils, with a score prediction to top it all off.
What to expect from the Duke Blue Devils
Hugh Straine had this to say about the start to the season for the #7 Duke Blue Devils. "They have looked like one of the most complete teams in the entire nation over its first two games of the season. Defensively, the connectivity from the Duke makes it a well-oiled machine as it limited its first two opponents to 37% and 33% shooting from the field, respectively. The Blue Devils have also forced 27 turnovers and have scored 35 points off turnovers through its first two games combined."
The question most people who watch college hoops have about Duke is about their freshman. In a startling reversal of roles, Kentucky is the experienced/veteran team while the Blue Devils are led by star freshman Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg. Straine emphasized this point in our conversation, "Knueppel is averaging 18 points on 56% shooting from the field as probably Duke’s biggest scoring threat so far through the season, and Flagg is averaging 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists on 44% shooting from the field. Flagg’s jump shot hasn’t been hot so far this season, but he impacts the game in every way possible on both ends of the floor."
He goes on to mention another freshman that Jon Scheyer has to utilize, "Flagg and 7’ 2” freshman center Khaman Maluach have done a good amount of pick-and-roll concepts through the first two games, and it looks like a dangerous set Duke will run consistently in the early shot clock."
"Outside of those three, the Blue Devils have a load of depth in terms of scoring. Six different players have scored in double figures in both games for Duke this season, including the entire starting five notching double-digit scoring nights in Duke’s 100-58 win over Army on Friday night. One of the main threats for Duke is the amount of guys that can get hot at any point. Nine different guys hit a three against Army, and six different guys hit a three against Maine."
What does he expect from the Kentucky Wildcats?
"Kentucky looks like an offensive powerhouse, scoring at least 100 points in each of its first two games this season. Mark Pope is bringing the same scheme he had at BYU: get up the court fast and take a lot of threes. In my opinion, Koby Brea is undoubtedly the best shooter in the country, and Kerr Kriisa looks like a much-improved passer than he’s ever been in his career. When I watch Kentucky, it’s a group of athletes. Even the bigs like Amari Williams and Brandon Garrison can move with the rest of the unit in transition."
"I think where Duke has the step forward is defense. The Wildcats have looked out of sync defensively on a number of occasions, and against one of the scariest offenses in the country that is Duke, I have a hard time seeing Kentucky be able to keep up with it. But I can also see Kentucky raining down from three the whole night, as Duke has struggled with turnovers of its own a little bit. It’s going to be huge for Duke to control the basketball and keep Kentucky out of transition."
Final score prediction from Hugh Straine:
"Duke defensively will power the Blue Devils ahead. This matchup gives me 2018 Champions Classic vibes, with two teams oozing with elite talent. However, Duke is more polished defensively and has the offensive depth to keep up with Kentucky. Duke won’t blow the Cats out but will win comfortably."