Duke takes on Kansas in the Champions Classic.
Duke
The Blue Devils played their first two regular-season games over the weekend, clobbering Marist 94-49 and Grand Canyon 96-61 at home. Junior guard Grayson Allen had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Frank Jackson scored 21 points Saturday against Grand Canyon. Allen had 16 points Friday against Marist, Jackson had 18, and Luke Kennard scored 16.
Allen had a strong sophomore season in which he averaged 21.4 points per game. Fifth-year senior Amile Jefferson is back after missing the final 27 games in 2015-16 because of a right foot injury. He is averaging 5.7 rebounds in 115 career games and 10 points and 8 boards this season. Duke has won five national championships and is the favorite to win a sixth this season.
Freshman forward Jayson Tatum missed both weekend games after spraining his foot during practice last month. Freshman center Marques Bolden has a leg injury, and forward Harry Giles is recovering after having his left knee scoped in October to clean up some loose bodies and scar tissue. It is likely they will miss Tuesday’s game.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski, 69, is coming off a successful summer, leading Team USA to its third straight Olympic gold medal. He has a 1,045-321 record over 41-plus seasons as a head coach, including a 972-262 mark in his 37th season at Duke.
Kansas
No. 7/8 Kansas, 12-time defending Big 12 regular-season champions, faces No. 1/1 Duke (2-0) in the State Farm Champions Classic Tuesday night at ~9:30 PM at historic Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Kansas is facing its first No. 1 foe since the Jayhawks defeated USA Today Coaches Poll No. 1 Oklahoma, 109-106, in triple overtime on Jan. 4, 2016, in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas is facing an Associated Press No. 1 team for the 24th time in school history and the first time since the 2014 Champions Classic where it fell to Kentucky, 72-40, in Indianapolis. Kansas is 7-16 all-time versus the Associated Press No. 1, including 2-2 under head coach Bill Self.
KU, which is 1-4 in the Champions Classic (0-2 against Michigan State, 0-2 vs. Kentucky, 1-0 vs. Duke) will try to avoid a rare 0-2 start to the season. Last time that happened was 1972-73, when the Jayhawks went 8-18 overall.
The Jayhawks are 3-7 all-time versus Duke, but have won two of the last three meetings, including the last matchup, a 94-83 win in the 2013 Champions Classic in Chicago.
KU will be trying to make rapid improvement defensively from Friday’s 103-99 overtime loss to Indiana in Hawaii. Indiana hit 15 of 31 threes in that game. KU also must improve on the boards after being outrebounded by 11 by the Hoosiers. The Jayhawks hope Big 12 player of the week Frank Mason continues his stellar play. He had a 30-point, nine-assist, and seven-rebound outing against Indiana.
Endgame
For Duke it is going to come down to fundamentals and defense. Perimeter defense and keying on guard Frank Mason III is crucial. If Duke can limit him in the paint and on the free throw like Duke should have a chance to win. As shorthanded as the Devils are they have enough firepower from the outside to muster out a win but if Duke can utilize its big men effectively they increase their margin for error. Amile Jefferson on both ends of the floor needs to be huge and if Duke can get good minutes for Chase Jeter then I think they can get a close victory but if Frank Mason goes HAM it could be a very long night for Duke.
I see a very close game with Duke eking out a 82-76 win.
These are snippets from the full preview which can be read here
