No. 2 Duke faces No. 5 Michigan State in State Farm Champions Classic showdown tonight
Tonight, we have the State Farm Champions Classic, featuring two of the best in the country: Michigan State vs.
Key points
- The height will be a bit of a problem for Michigan State, especially foul trouble comes into play.
- And, even if they can, Duke has an advantage in being able to continuously rotate in tall players to keep a fresh one out there while the other team has to play with a fatigued player.
- Their tenacity will set the tone for Michigan State all season.
This is a significantly shorter trip for the Spartans than it is for the Blue Devils, so it may feel like more of a home game for Michigan State.
Michigan State comes into the game with a ranking of fifth in the nation, and at least part of that is due to its returning players.
Additional details
- Duke is the second-ranked team in the nation, and they are pretty much the same story as every year.
- The United Center is known for being a tough place to shoot, and I still feel like the total is too high, so I'll take a half unit on the under and a half unit on the Spartans +7.5.
- Most schools play lower-level clubs so they can get some easy wins out of the way, figure out their offense, and make adjustments before the Thanksgiving tournaments.
- The Blue Devils don't have the top-ranked player in the nation this season, but they do have Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje and Cameron Williams, who are 6'11" or taller.
- I do like the combination of new talent and returning players for Duke.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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