Kentucky vs Duke Odds and Picks (Nov. 9)
- No. 9 Duke is a 1.5-point favorite over No. 10 Kentucky at 9:30 pm ET Tuesday on ESPN
- Both reloaded after missing the 2021 NCAA tournament
- Duke is 4-1 in the last five regular-season meetings, 3-2 ATS
No. 9 Duke will open coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 42nd and final season as a 1.5-point favorite over No. 10 Kentucky in the State Farm Champions Classic at New York’s Madison Square Garden at 9:30 pm ET, Tuesday, on ESPN.
Duke is the preseason betting favorite (+230) to win the Atlantic Coast Conference over Florida State and North Carolina, while Kentucky is a slight favorite (+350) to win the Southeastern Conference over Alabama and Arkansas.
Kentucky vs Duke Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Wildcats | +105 | +1.5 (-110) | Over 147.5 (-112) |
| Duke Blue Devils | -126 | -1.5 (-110) | Under 147.5 (-108) |
Odds from FanDuel on Nov. 8.
Duke and Kentucky are looking to recover from subpar seasons. Duke was 13-11 in 2020-21 and had its lowest winning percentage (.542) since 1994-95, when Krzyzewski missed the final 19 games with a back injury and the Blue Devils finished 13-18.
A year ago, Kentucky coach John Calipari suffered his first losing season since 1988-89, his first year at UMass. After beating Morehead State in the season opener, the Wildcats lost their next six and never recovered. They lost seven of eight in a later stretch and finished 9-16.
The Last Waltz
Coach K begins his farewell tour with a team that is favored to win the ACC, with incoming freshmen Paolo Banchero, Trevor Keels, and AJ Griffin expected to play major roles alongside returnees Wendell Carter Jr, Jeremy Roach, and Marquette graduate transfer Theo John.
One-and-done Banchero, 6’10, 250 pounds, chose Duke over Kentucky and Gonzaga, among others, after a McDonald’s All-American career at Seattle (Wash.) O’Dea High. Banchero, who was voted the preseason ACC Player of the Year, can play inside and out and is projected to be a top-three pick in the 2022 NBA draft.
Keels, a 6’4 wing, also was a McDonald’s All-American after averaging 28.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 3.8 steals per game with six triple-doubles his senior season at Fairfax (Va.) St. Paul VI High, where he teamed with point guard Roach for three years.
Banchero had 21 points and nine rebounds in a 106-38 exhibition victory over Winston-Salem State on Oct. 30. Keels had 12 and four, and starting center Mark Williams had 14 points, five rebounds, and five blocked shots.
Kentucky’s Big Reload
After building a program with one-and-done freshmen, Kentucky took a different route in an attempt a leave 2020-21 in the rear-view. Calipari mined the NCAA transfer portal to add Sahvir Wheeler, Kellan Grady, and CJ Fredrick to a backcourt that returns leading scorer Davion Mintz (11.5 points a game).
The Wildcats also will feature 6’9 sophomore Oscar Tshiebwe, whose transfer from West Virginia in the middle of last year caused Mountaineers’ coach Bob Huggins to take a not-so-veiled shot at the Wildcats, saying, “It’s easier to steal than it is to work and earn things. It’s taking the easy way out.”
https://youtu.be/5nhLsk8R9Ic
Wheeler, 5’10, averaged 14 points and 7.3 assists as a sophomore Georgia last season, leading the Bulldogs in both categories. He also had the first triple-double in Georgia history with a 14-13-10 game against LSU last season.
Grady, a 6’5 graduate transfer from Davidson, averaged 17.1 points a game last season and has a career average of 17.4 points while shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from three-point range. Kentucky shot a miserable 41.7 percent from the field last season.
Fredrick, a 6’3 junior, averaged 7.5 points per game at Iowa and started all 52 games in which he played for the Hawkeyes. He is a career 46.6 percent three-point shooter. Freshman TyTy Washington, a top 20 recruit, completes a loaded backcourt in Calipari’s new “four-guard out” offense.
Forward Jacob Toppin (shoulder) had 12 points in an 80-71 exhibition victory over Miles College after missing the exhibition game against Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 29. Fredrick (knee) did not play in either, although he was expected to practice for the first time in months over the weekend.
Thanks for the Memories
Duke and Kentucky played one of the most memorable games in NCAA tournament history in the 1992 East Regional finals, when Christian Laettner’s 16-foot buzzer-beater stopped the Wildcats 103-102 in overtime.
The teams have met only once since in the NCAA tournament, Kentucky’s 86-84 victory in the 1998 South Regional finals.
10 must-see college basketball games that will take place this month:
Duke vs Kentucky
Kanas vs Michigan State
Texas @ Gonzaga
Villanova @ UCLA
Duke vs Gonzaga
Gonzaga vs UCLA
North Carolina vs Purdue
Memphis @ Alabama
Florida State @ Purdue
Kansas @ Tennessee— Marky Futures (@MarkyFutures) November 1, 2021
By the Numbers
Duke beat Kentucky 118-84 as a two-point favorite in their last meeting in the Champions Classic on Nov. 2, 2018 in Indianapolis.
Duke was 9-15 against the number in 2020-21, going 1-9 ATS in its first 10. Kentucky was 8-16-1 ATS last season. The teams both missed the NCAA tournament last year for the first time since 1976.
The Blue Devils will open Coach K’s final season with a bang.
The pick: Duke -1.5. (-110)
Jack has covered college and professional sports for various Arizona media outlets since the 1980s and has written for the Associated Press, USA Today and Baseball America, among others. He staffed the 2015-17 World Series and has staffed four Super Bowls.
