The No. 8 Duke Blue Devils (2-0) and No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks (2-0) meet in a titanic, early-season battle of top-10 blue-bloods Tuesday night in Indianapolis. The opening tip in the State Farm Champions Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse is slated for 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Duke vs. Kansas odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Duke cruised to a pair of opening-week victories, outscoring Jacksonville and South Carolina Upstate by a combined margin of 73 points. New coach Jon Scheyer has the Devils’ defense dialed in. Duke has held foes to a 30.8% from the field. The Devils are a plus-20.5 in average rebounding margin. They’re a plus-5 (average) in turnovers.
Kansas is 2-0 with a couple blowout-but-non-covering wins over Omaha and North Dakota State. Kansas has been strong on the boards, with passing the basketball, and in defending the basket. But the Jayhawks have notably shot just 52% from the floor so far.
Last season, Duke went 8-2 on neutral floors; Kansas went 12-1.
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Duke vs. Kansas odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:41 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Duke -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Kansas -105 (bet $105 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Duke +1.5 (-125) | Kansas -1.5 (+100)
- Over/Under (O/U): 145.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Duke vs. Kansas picks and predictions
Prediction
Duke 71, Kansas 69
Moneyline
This figures as an even game on a level floor in Indianapolis. Kansas coach Bill Self will not be in attendance due to a self-imposed ban announced by the Jayhawks last week. That feels like a small factor yet, 1 more on a list of many to just leave this gamealone.
PASS.
Against the spread
This is not a great betting game for the sides to begin with. The 25 cents of juice here does not help. PASS.
Over/Under
The Under has gone a combined 3-1 for these 2 so far this season.
Both of these teams are quite young. Both should adequately wall off 2nd-chance looks. With the neutral backdrop and the youth of the combatants, the UNDER 145.5 (-112) is a decent play.
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