Kansas vs Duke Picks, Predictions & Props to Bet

• The #4 Duke Blue Devils look to stay perfect when they meet the #24 Kansas Jayhawks in the Champions Classic in NYC
• The Jayhawks have beaten the Blue Devils twice in the past three seasons on neutral courts, but will be without Darryn Peterson
• See the Kansas vs Duke expert picks and predictions, plus my favorite player prop to bet and the latest betting lines

The #4 Duke Blue Devils (4-0, 4-0 ATS, 1-3 O/U) look to end a two-game losing streak to the #24 Kansas Jayhawks (3-1, 2-2 ATS, 1-3 O/U) when the two blue bloods meet at Madison Square Garden in New York City at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday night.

What should be a head-on collision between two of the top recruits in the country has lost some of its lustre with the news that Kansas freshman point guard Darryn Peterson (21.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.0 APG) will miss his third straight game with a hamstring injury. Peterson was listed as the #2 recruit in the nation by ESPN, one spot ahead of Duke center Cameron Boozer (22.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 4.3 APG), who’s looked like a men among boys in his first four college games.

The Blue Devils are big favorites over the shorthanded Jayhawks on Tuesday night, with the spread as high as 11.5 at certain sportsbooks. (Full Kansas vs Duke odds below.)

Kansas vs Duke Expert Picks

• Kansas first half +6.5 (-110) at Caesars
• Under 149.0 at BetRivers
• Flory Bidunga over 16.5 points (+105) at Caesars

The Jayhawks have had two games to get used to Peterson’s absence, and while the quality of competition wasn’t high, they ran away with both wins: a 77-46 victory over #257 Texas A&M CC, and a 76-57 win over #224 Princeton (both at home).

Senior guard Tre White (12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.8 APG) has stepped up in a big way, dropping 18 points with eight rebounds against Princeton last time out. Sophomore Flory Bidunga (17.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG), the #18 recruit in the country last year, had a team-high 25 points and ten boards.

Crucially, the 6’10, 235-pound Bindunga gives Bill Self a huge interior presence to contain Cam Boozer.

I am not keen on the idea of Kansas pulling off the upset tonight. The talent disparity sans Peterson is too big. But the Jayhawks are still a solid team in both the frontcourt and backcourt without their star freshman. While they ultimately wound up losing at North Carolina on November 7th (87-74), they ran away with the first half (37-29).

Duke is laying 6.5 points in the first-half spread alone, which is a huge number to cover against a good team on a neutral court.

Duke vs Kansas Player Props

Cameron Boozer has the highest point total of the night by a wide margin, sitting at 22.5 O/U. The next-highest is Kansas forward Flory Bidunga (17.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.5 APG) at 16.5 O/U.

Boozer also has the highest rebound total at 10.5 O/U. He’s recorded a double-double in two of the first four games, finishing one rebound and two rebounds shy in the other two. He dominated against Indiana State (# at KenPom) last time out, finishing with 35 points (on 81.3% shooting) and 12 rebounds in 29 minutes

Player props as of 1:45 pm ET at bet365. See the latest pre-reg offers from bet365 Missouri.

Updated Kansas vs Duke Odds

The current Kansas vs Duke odds list the Blue Devils at -649 or shorter on the moneyline, with Caesars Sportsbook offering the best price. Kansas is as long as +490 at DraftKings.

The spread shows a half-point range, from Duke -11.0 to -11.5. Kansas ATS bettors can get +11.5 (-110) at BetMGM. Duke ATS bettors can get -11.0 (-110) at bet365.

The game total ranges a full point from 148.5 to 149.5. The best under price is at FanDuel (U 149.5 at -115) while the best over price is at DraftKings (O 148.5 at -105).

Odds commentary as of 3:22 pm ET. The lines in the table will update with the best-available price if the college basketball odds change before gametime.

Duke vs Kansas Public-Betting Splits

As of 3:22 pm ET, data was not available for the Duke/Kansas public-betting splits.