The 2023 College Basketball Champions Classic begins on Tuesday with the Michigan State Spartans taking on the Duke Blue Devils at the United Center in Chicago, IL.
These top-ranked teams have both struggled out of the gate this season. The Spartans are 1-1 after losing to James Madison at home to open the season, while the Blue Devils are also .500 after dropping a game to No. 3 ranked Arizona.
Tom Izzo’s squad comes into this neutral site game as 3.5-point underdogs, with the over/under set at 141.5
Read below for a guide on everything you need to know heading into this huge matchup.
- How to watch
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Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images The entire Champions Classic is exclusively on ESPN and the ESPN App. Michigan State vs. Duke tips off at 6 PM Eastern time. Dan Schulman and Jay Bilas have the play-by-play duties, while Holly Rowe provides reports from the sideline.
- Duke Blue Devils team preview
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Lance King/Getty Images After a few “down years”, Duke Basketball has returned. Jon Scheyer proved he knows how to recruit, and he now has the most talented team in the country in my opinion.
Sophomore center Kyle Filipowski and senior guard Jeremy Roach are slotted in as the leaders of this Blue Devils Team. Filipowski has scored 25 points in both of Duke’s games so far this season, while Roach was arguably Duke’s best player in the loss to Arizona, stuffing the stat sheet with a 17-point, 3-assist, 3-rebound, and 2-steal performance.
Duke’s supporting cast is also full of NBA talent. Five-star freshman guard Jared McCain was the consensus No. 1 high school player in California a season ago but has struggled to open up his college career, shooting just 6/15 from the field.
The 18-year-old did show off his all-around promise against Arizona, providing a team-high 5 assists and 3 steals in the loss.
Guards Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster are two players who will need to step up for the Blue Devils if they hope to be the final team cutting down the nets in March. Both have yet to get going in 2023, but figure to be large parts of Jon Scheyer’s offense.
Watch out for Proctor’s three-point shooting in this game tonight against a Michigan State team that allows opponents to shoot the long ball just under 30 times per game.
- Michigan State Spartans team preview
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Getty Images If you haven’t kept up with the blogs (first of all you should be) I have been preaching about how Tom Izzo’s teams often get off to slow starts in November before turning it on once the calendar flips to the new year.
This season is no different, as the Spartans have failed to cover in both games they’ve played and lost straight up to now 24th-ranked James Madison.
The Spartans are led by the backcourt of Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins. The former has done all he can for Michigan State this season.
Walker scored nearly half of his team’s points in the loss to JMU, dropping in 35 points and gathering 6 steals. He had another great game in the Spartans’ win against Southern Indiana, shooting 6/7 from the field in 24 minutes.
His backcourt mate, junior Jaden Akins, leads the team in rebounds but has struggled to find his stroke early on, much like the rest of the Spartans.
No Spartan besides Tyson Walker is averaging double figures in the young season. Freshmen forward Coen Carr has been good in limited minutes so far, and he should be more involved tonight and as the season goes on.
Seniors Malik Hall and A.J Hoggard should also play better as we get deeper into the season.
- Best bet.
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Devin Anderson-Torrez | The State News I alluded to it above, but Tyson Walker has been the heart and soul of the Michigan State Spartans so far. Not only that but he is built for the big game.
The super-senior is going to take advantage of a young Duke backcourt tonight and provide Tom Izzo with the scoring he needs to keep his team in the game.
Tyson Walker over 17.5 points is one of my favorite plays so far this season.
- Prediction
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Anabel Howery | The Duke Chronicle Tom Izzo not only sucks in November, but he is 3-13 in his career against Duke. I’m going to stick with my take here and take the Blue Devils in a close one.
Duke wins it, 73-65.
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