Upcoming Match-ups

Michigan State vs Duke Odds, Lines, and Spread

Jordan Horrobin

by Jordan Horrobin in College Basketball

Updated Nov 30, 2020 · 2:54 PM PST

Duke's Wendell Moore Jr. (0) calls a play during an NCAA college basketball game against Brown in Durham, N.C..
Wendell Moore Jr and the Duke Blue Devils are slight favorites against Michigan State in the 2020 Champions Classic. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
  • One of the biggest early-season college basketball matchups takes place on Tuesday (7:30 pm ET) as No. 6 Duke battles No. 8 Michigan State
  • Duke is a slight favorite, playing in the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium
  • The odds for the game, as well as matchup analysis and a pick, can be found in the article below

The tenth edition of the Champions Classic features a tantalizing top-ten matchup between No. 6 Duke and No. 8 Michigan State on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 pm ET. Since the event began in 2011, the Spartans have gone 0-3 against the Blue Devils.

They’ll have an opportunity to change that poor standing on Tuesday, but oddsmakers aren’t favoring them to do so.

No. 6 Duke vs No. 8 Michigan State Odds

Team Moneyline Point Spread Over/Under Total
Duke -162 -3.5 (-104) Over 151.5 (-114)
Michigan State +136 +3.5 (-118) Under 151.5 (-106)

Odds taken Nov. 30 at FanDuel.

How They’ve Fared So Far

Early-season assessments can be tricky, because so few games have been played. What can be gleaned from Duke’s lone game, a game in which their win probability on KenPom never fell below 99 percent? Not much.

Michigan State’s pair of wins so far does include one opponent of note in Notre Dame. The Spartans beat the Irish by 10 on Saturday, with an impeccable 26 assists on 30 made baskets.

The best way to compare these two teams is to think back to last year’s meeting, when Duke won by eight in East Lansing. Of course, many of the main characters of that game (Michigan State’s Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman; Duke’s Vernon Carey Jr. and Tre Jones) have moved on to the NBA.

Injury Updates

Both teams have a player carrying a “questionable” status into Tuesday’s game, though the potential impact for Michigan State is certainly greater.

Spartans guard Rocket Watts — an all-Big Ten freshman team selection last year — has an ankle injury. Watts started 16 of 27 games for Michigan State last year, and has played 21.5 minutes per game so far this season.

He played Saturday, though, and told reporters afterward that his knee and ankle are “feeling good,” so there shouldn’t be too much cause for concern.

On Duke’s side, freshman forward Henry Coleman is also dealing with an ankle injury. The four-star recruit played just one minute in the team’s season opener, which could have as much to do with his freshman status as with his injury. It’s difficult to know right now what the Blue Devils are missing out on if he can’t play.

History Favors Blue Devils

The simple fact that Michigan State has never beaten Duke in the Champions Classic should give bettors some confidence to roll with the Blue Devils here. But there’s more to it than that.

Duke is 8-1 straight-up against Michigan State in their all-time matchup. More importantly, the Blue Devils often start the season on a high note.

Despite being a high-turnover team, with lots of young stars leaving early for the NBA, Duke consistently finds ways to win early in the season. Since 2010, the Blue Devils’ only losses in the first two-and-a-half weeks of their season have come against powerhouses like Kansas (2014, 2017), Kentucky (2016) and Gonzaga (2019).

Is Michigan State a powerhouse? Traditionally, yes. But they’re not a team that has given the Blue Devils much trouble, and we think that will continue.

Pick: Duke Moneyline (-162)

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