The Duke Blue Devils brought championship expectations into the 2024-25 season, but head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his team will need to prove themselves pretty quickly in November.
After back-to-back wins over Maine and Army to begin the season, the men’s basketball team will play the Kentucky Wildcats in Atlanta on Tuesday night. That rivalry battle, part of the State Farm Champions Classic, kicks off a four-game stretch that includes the Arizona Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks.
Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] has averaged 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks to begin his collegiate career, but he’s exited the second half of both games with cramps.
“I’m not happy about it for him,” Scheyer said after Friday’s win over Army. “We’ve got to help him, and we will…We can’t have that happening. Bottom line.”
With Flagg’s second-half status and the emergence of Kon Knueppel (18.5 points per game), can the Blue Devils start stacking ranked wins before Thanksgiving?
Here are our staff predictions for Tuesday’s game.
Ryan Haley, Duke Wire site editor
If there’s one thing both of these rosters will do, it’s fire off 3-pointers. Exactly half of the Blue Devils’ attempts came from behind the arc through two games. The Wildcats aren’t far behind with 41.7% of their attempts from distance, and both teams are connecting on at least 40% of their triples.
However, in a battle of high-octane offenses, the Duke defense will win a war of attrition. Flagg and Khaman Maluach make enough plays in the interior, but the Blue Devils’ size on the perimeter can’t be understated. Every member of the backcourt being at least 6-foot-5 with excellent lateral quickness will ensure the Wildcats don’t get many free looks, and that tenacity has shown its ability to win out over 40 minutes.
Flagg notches at least four combined steals and blocks, Knueppel makes at least four 3-pointers, and the Duke basketball hype reaches another pitch.
Duke 94, Kentucky 76
Bryant Crews, Staff Writer
In earnest, Duke’s season officially begins with this game. The games against Maine and Army were nice tune-ups that counted but now rubber meets the road, literally and figuratively. Duke will leave North Carolina for the first time this basketball season to take on fellow blue blood starting a new era themselves. Mark Pope, a former Wildcat himself, is running things in Lexington after John Calipari left for Arkansas.
Kentucky isn’t as freshmen-heavy as we’ve come to expect when these teams have met over the last six years, and in some ways, it’s hard to say Duke is.
Nonetheless, Duke’s major three freshman starters will play a massive role in the tremendous jump up in competition and intensity. It’s always intriguing to see how these highly touted freshmen play when the level of play needs to rise tremendously. I have no doubt that Flagg, Kneuppel, and Maluach will be ready to rock in Atlanta.
I have Duke winning this game. Kentucky will be a problem and seeing Maluach go head-to-head with Amari Williams will be fun. I think Flagg has his early-season marquee moment much like Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero had against this same program. Tyrese Proctor knocks down multiple 3-pointers, and Sion James records at least one block, steal, assist, and rebound apiece on top of dropping a few points to really show his worth as a glue guy extraordinaire.
Duke 81, Kentucky 72
Josiah Caswell, Staff Writer
Duke has arguably the most talented team in America, and that’s been on clear display so far in the season. Whether it’s their returning talent, transfer talent, or most notably their freshman talent, the Blue Devils have it all.
The thing is, relying on so much freshman talent can have its ups and downs. It could mean nothing, but it could also mean something if a learning bump arises given the early schedule.
Regardless, I don’t think that will matter against Kentucky. The Wildcats have a new coach, who is a good one, and an entirely new team. As a result, there’s just as much novelty for them as there is for Duke.
The Blue Devils have the better coach and the more talented team in my opinion. Duke will win.
Flagg’s recent cramping issues are worth noting, however. He’ll need to stay well-hydrated and do his best to stay on the court as much as possible.
Duke 92, Kentucky 81