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Four blue bloods — Michigan State, Duke, Kentucky and Kansas — head to the United Center in Chicago for another edition of the Champions Classic.
The Spartans and Blue Devils will begin the event with a top-five battle at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN) before Kansas and Kentucky go head-to-head in the night cap (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Our staff has their Champions Classic best bets below, as they dish out their picks for the premier NCAAB event on Tuesday, November 10.
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Champions Classic Best Bets
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
| 7 p.m. | |
| 7 p.m. | |
  | 9:30 p.m. | |
| 9:30 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Michigan State vs. Duke
It’s too early in the season to really glean anything useful from advanced stats. Duke laid waste to Army and Coastal Carolina by a combined score of 197 to 102.
Army has never made the NCAA Tournament and that won’t change this year. The Cadets are unlikely to break .500 in the Patriot League and provided little resistance to Duke in their opener, mainly due to their undersized front line.
Army doesn’t start a single player over 6-foot-9, while Duke threw waves of NBA-ready bigs at the Black Knights for 40 minutes. The result was a defensive masterclass (22 stocks), and utter dominance on the offensive glass (14 rebounds).
It was a copy-and-paste situation against Coastal Carolina in the following game.
These were tin cans; Michigan State is anything but.
The Spartans thumped a pair of teams in paycheck games so far, dropping Quinnipiac and Toledo by 37 and 30, respectively. This Spartans team wasn’t constructed to be a Duke Killer, but it does have that potential.
It starts with elite, unflappable point guard play. Jeremy Fears Jr. was a consensus preseason All-American, and with good reason. He sets the table for Tom Izzo as one of the best facilitators in the sport.
Everything Sparty wants to do begins and ends with him.
His surehandedness also prevents Duke from breaking out in transition, which is why I love the under in this matchup.
Duke’s half-court offense is still a work in progress as the Blue Devils figure out their post-Boozer identity. Cam Boozer was their go-to offensive engine out of the post, and while they’re supremely talented in the frontcourt, there are a lot of mouths to feed.
If you limit your turnovers and make them beat you in the half court, the game begins to slant towards an under.
The other element that Michigan State brings to the table is its defensive rebounding chops. The Spartans led the nation in defensive rebounding percentage last season, and the combination of Jordan Scott and Anton Bonke should be enough to limit Duke to single-digit offensive rebounds.
There will be highlight reel moments; look out for Michigan State’s All-World dunker Coen Carr, but for the most part this will be a half-court grind and a lower-scoring affair.
Pick: Under 149.5
Michigan State vs. Duke
Both teams have the defensive chops to make this a low-scoring affair, and with both ranking in the 200s in tempo, expect a deliberate pace.
Duke is talented enough to cover the 6.5-point spread, but I want no part of picking a side on a neutral court.
Instead, the under is my favorite play. The Blue Devils rank 37th in free throw rate defense, while Michigan State has struggled from the free-throw line and in the mid-range.
If Sparty can clean up the fouling issues, this should be a defensive brawl.
Let's root for bricks!
Pick: Under 149.5
Michigan State vs. Duke
We can all agree that college basketball is better when Michigan State is good, and this is one of those years I expect the Spartans to contend seriously for a Final Four appearance.
But on Tuesday, they run into Duke, a team that has really got bit over the last three seasons.
If this game was at Cameron Indoor, I think this game would have the potential to be high scoring, but in a neutral environment, I don’t think the Blue Devils will be able to play at the pace they want.
Expect Michigan State to control the tempo, and ultimately, both defenses will show up here. Give me the under.
Pick: Under 149.5
Kansas vs. Kentucky
In the nightcap, I don’t believe this Kentucky team is ready for primetime just yet. James Madison just threw a scare into the Wildcats at Rupp Arena, drawing even with Kentucky seven minutes into the second half.
The reason for that scare was Kentucky’s inability to turn James Madison over or keep the Dukes off the offensive glass.
Kansas is likely to struggle against aggressive, turnover-minded defenses in Big 12 play. But Kentucky isn’t on that level, and from a rebounding standpoint, Kansas should be able to generate extra scoring opportunities against this softer Kentucky front line.
Tyran Stokes, Kansas’ mega-talented freshman, will either feast on Milan Momcilovic or drag a big man out to the perimeter. Stokes will impact this game on every level as a facilitator, rebounder and pure half-court scorer.
In the end, Kentucky won’t have a counter for his production, and the Jayhawks will put them away in the second half.
Pick: Kansas ML -218
Kansas vs. Kentucky
This opening number for Milan Momcilovic is too low.
This is one of the best 3-point shooters in the entire country, as evidenced by his 48.6% rate a year ago. He was brought over to Lexington for a reason, and he’s already let it fly in Kentucky’s opening two games, taking 17 combined 3s.
I wouldn’t look too much into that 1-of-8 showing against James Madison. The important thing is that he continued to fire.
That mentality will remain true in the Champions Classic against a familiar Kansas squad.
In the Jayhawks’ opening two games, they have allowed 3-point attempts on 43.8% of attempts. They currently rank first in 2-point defense (24.7%), though have struggled to secure offensive rebounds (33% rate allowed).
Those second-chance opportunities are going to be a plus for Momcilovic, who is one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the sport. Malachi Moreno should provide a steady presence down low and work a two-man game with his counterpart Momcilovic.
As a whole last season, Momcilovic went over this 2.5 number in 23-of-37 games (62%). In games where he played 30+ minutes, he was over this number in 19-of-25 (76%).
While he isn’t a ball dominant player, he is great off-ball and should have plenty of opportunities to attack. The limitless range and consistency at which he can score is a huge plus here.
Barring foul trouble, I’d be shocked if Momcilovic does not finish with at least three 3s. I’m happy to grab this number in what should be a fun, high-scoring bout.
Pick: Milan Momcilovic Over 2.5 3PM (-120)
