Duke vs. Kansas: How to watch, odds, predictions from ESPN, KenPom
College basketball’s marquee event to open the season will tip off tonight with the State Farm Champion’s Classic. Kentucky and Michigan State will kick things off but, after that, fans will have a real treat in the nightcap with the Duke Blue Devils squaring off against the Kansas Jayhawks.
With Jon Scheyer’s young Duke team set to face off against Bill Self’s defending national title winner, everyone has a prediction or a feel for how this primetime matchup is going to go.
CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel
How to watch Duke vs. Kansas
Tip-off: 9:30 p.m. EST
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Channel: ESPN
Vegas odds
Duke is a 0.5-point favorite over Kansas on Tuesday according to VegasInsider. The over-under is set at 144.5 points.
ESPN BPI prediction
Predicted winner: Kansas
Predicted point differential: 1.6
Win probability (for Kansas): 56.1%
Matchup quality: 93.0
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a tool that measures team strength and uses that to predict outcomes of future performances. ESPN’s BPI has Duke vs. Kansas ranked as the highest-rated game on Tuesday’s slate in terms of matchup quality.
KenPom prediction
Predicted final score: Kansas 74, Duke 73
Win probability (for Kansas): 51%
KenPom is another tool that provides advanced analysis across college basketball. Like ESPN, KenPom projects Kansas will come away with the victory over Duke in Indy.
More on Duke vs. Kansas
For the first time, Duke will arrive for the Champion’s Classic with someone other than Mike Krzyzewski at the helm. That job was left to Scheyer who, after recruiting well this offseason, has done a solid job in the first two games of his career. Amid the transition of power, Scheyer’s first Blue Devil roster has a mix of both experience and youth. Jeremy Roach and transfers Ryan Young and Jacob Grandison have held down the fort while freshmen Mark Mitchell, Kyle Filipowski, and Dereck Lively have acquainted themselves to the college game.
However, Scheyer’s team will see a significant step up in competition when it comes to the Jayhawks. While several of Self’s key pieces left after winning it all last season, he is still bringing a very experienced Kansas squad to this year’s event. Jalen Wilson, Dajuan Harris, and Kevin McCullar, a transfer from Texas Tech, have all provided a solid foundation for the Jayhawks to build off of. From there, it’s allowed their freshman Gradey Dick and MJ Rice to find their footing early.
When it comes to college hoops, these programs are the cream of the crop. Only one can reach the 3-0 mark this season, though, after they face off tonight in the 14th meeting all-time between the two.