Kentucky Wildcats vs Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview
Basketball is back. Tuesday night opens up the NCAA basketball season, and one of the many interesting games features a battle of top-ten teams as the No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats take on the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils. This game will take place at the neutral site of Madison Square Garden, with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 pm ET.
Last year was a rough year for John Calipari and the Wildcats. They finished 9-16 overall and 8-9 in the SEC. Trying to bounce back this season, they will have a tall task in their opener taking on Duke.
Speaking of the Blue Devils, Mike Krzyzewski starts his farewell tour Tuesday as he has already announced his retirement following the season. Duke will look to send him off on a high note with a bounce-back season.
Last year, Duke was simply mediocre as they finished 13-11 overall and 9-9 in the ACC.
Duke is the favorite in this one. They are -118 to win while the Wildcats’ moneyline sits at -102. The spread features Kentucky +1.5 (-118), and the over/under for total points is 148.5 (-110).
More Odds
Both of these teams are the favorites to win their respective conferences. Duke is currently +230 to win the ACC, while Kentucky is +350 to win the SEC.
In terms of winning the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, Duke has the seventh-best odds to do so at +1500. Kentucky comes in with the ninth-best odds at +1600.
By The Numbers
In their last 15 games, Kentucky is just 5-10 overall and 3-11-1 against the spread. They have played well in November, though, as they are 13-2 in their last 15 games in the month.
In their last nine games, the Blue Devils are 6-3, both straight up and against the spread. In their last five games against Kentucky, the over has hit in four of them.
Kentucky Looks To Incoming Talent To Turn Fortunes Around
With a 9-16 record last season, Kentucky coach John Calipari knew he had to get to work in order to turn his team around, and that is exactly what he did.
Not only did Calipari bring in some interesting freshmen, but he also got to work in the transfer portal. Most notable of the incoming transfers include Sahvir Wheeler (from Georgia), Kellan Grady (from Davidson), and center Oscar Tshiebwe (from West Virginia). It is expected that all three of these transfers will be in the starting lineup Tuesday.
The Wildcats technically have another transfer in CJ Fredrick (from Iowa), but he is not expected to play Tuesday as he returns from a lower-body injury.
In addition to the transfer talent, the Wildcats have a really exciting freshman recruit in shooting guard TyTy Washington. As a consensus five-star recruit, Washington could be one of the best freshmen in the country by the end of the season.
Duke Reloaded For Krzyzewski’s Final Run
Like Kentucky, Mike Krzyzewski had some work to do if he wanted a much stronger season in his final year as head coach. After a mediocre year last year, Duke looks poised to once again become a threat for a National Championship.
According to Kyle Boone’s NBA Draft 2022 Big Board, Duke has four players in the top 30 that could be on their way to the NBA heading into next season. Leading the way is superstar freshman power forward Paolo Banchero. Despite being 6’10”, he can handle the ball with the best of them, making him a legitimate threat on both ends of the floor.
Aside from Banchero, the other three destined for the NBA include AJ Griffin (freshman, small forward), Trevor Keels (freshman, shooting guard), and Mark Williams (sophomore, center).
Like in previous years, Krzyzewski will be relying on young talent to both mature and gel together quickly, but if anyone can get it done, it is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA men’s basketball history.
Taking The Blue Devils To Win And Cover
While it is hard to read too much into preseason basketball, the Wildcats didn’t exactly look like they were clicking on all cylinders. In fact, after beating Kentucky Wesleyan College just 95-72, they followed that up with an 80-71 win over Miles College.
Granted, John Calipari knows what needs to be done to get his crew ready to play, but the safer bet in this one is probably on Duke to not only win but to cover the 1.5-point spread as well.
