by
The opening match of the Champions Classic sees the Michigan State Spartans taking on the Duke Blue Devils at the United Center in Illinois. In our latest NCAAB betting picks, we look ahead to the clash between the two highly-ranked college sides.
- What; 2023/24 NCAA Men’s Basketball
- Who; Michigan State Spartans vs. Duke Blue Devils
- Where; United Center, Chicago, Illinoi
- When; Tuesday, November 14th 2023
- Time; 7.00 pm ET
This is the first of the two Champions Classic matches, with the Kentucky Wildcats taking on the Kansas Jayhawks immediately afterward. Michigan State comes into the match with an AP Ranking of 18 (previously four). The Duke Blue Devils are ranked nine (previously two). These are two evenly matched teams, and this promises to live up to its billing of a Classic.
Betting to win the 2024 Championship
Before we get onto the clash, let’s look at the latest college basketball odds to win the 2024 Championship match and see whereabouts in the betting that both MI State and Duke sit.
Duke is the shortest in the betting out of this match-up. Heading into the game, Jon Scheyer’s team is +1400 to win the tournament for the first time since 2015. The Blue Devils sit behind the Kansas Jayhawks in the betting. Bill Self’s team is +1000 to be the top team in 2024.
Alongside the Blue Devils on +1400 is the Purdue Boilermakers. We then find Arizona (+1600), Kentucky, UConn, and Creighton (all +1800) ahead of the Spartans (+2000) in the betting.
MI State vs. Blue Devils Betting Odds
Duke goes into the match as the betting favorite. On the money line, the Blue Devils are -170, with Michigan State at +150.
The handicap spread is 4 points in favor of the Spartans. Both teams are -110 to win with or against the spread. Finally, over 141.5 points is -110, with under 141.5 points at the same odds.
More match betting options for MI State vs Duke Blue Devils are available on our NCAA Basketball betting table. The odds we have used are from the best college basketball betting sites.
| MI State vs Duke Blue Devils Match Betting |  |  |  |
| MI State | +150 | +150 | +150 |
| Duke | -170 | -170 | -170 |
| MI State (+4) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Blue Devils (-4) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Over 141.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 141.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Michigan still trying to overcome the shocking defeat to James Madison
Michigan State doesn’t come into this fixture in the greatest of form. The Spartans lost their opening match at home to James Madison, with the 79-76 defeat coming after the Dukes outscored them by 11 points to eight in overtime.
The Spartans were punished for a sloppy start that saw them trailing 37-33 at halftime. The second-half rally was better. But it didn’t produce the desired result as the Spartans could only level the match (68-68) at the end of 40 minutes. At this point, you expect the cream to rise to the top. But on this occasion, the cream appeared to have turned sour, and the James Madison Dukes ran out 79-76 winners.
JAMES MADISON STUNS NO. 4 MICHIGAN STATE 😱
The Dukes go into East Lansing and pull off the huge upset 🔥 pic.twitter.com/o7rb2vhSBu
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 7, 2023
Things improved in the Spartans’ second match, but not greatly. Okay, they defeated the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles by 23 points, but it wasn’t the crushing win that Tom Izzo would have been hoping for. At the halfway point, the Spartans were 37-14 up. But they completely eased off in the second period, and it ended up 37 points each, giving the Spartans a 74-51 win.
Blue Devils need to quickly overcome the Wildcats defeat
As for the Blue Devils, they started with a routine 92-54 win over Dartmouth Big Green. The Blue Devils cruised into a 42-21 lead at the 20-minute mark. Jon Scheyer’s team didn’t ease off in the second period, and took that 50 points to 33, giving them a 38-point winning margin.
That was routine, but their second performance of the season against the Arizona Wildcats was anything but routine. The Blue Devils were slow starting and found themselves 41-33 down at the halfway stage. A second-half rally was needed, but the Blue Devils only managed to claw back three of the eight points needed, eventually losing 78-73 at home to the then No. 12-ranked Arizona Wildcats.
Our Picks
Both teams come into this match on the back of indifferent starts to the season, and it could be trouble for whoever comes out on the wrong side in this matchup.
Duke has a good recent record in the Champions Classic, having won five of its last six matches. Michigan State won this matchup at the 2020 Classic in North Carolina (75-69). But the last time they met at this venue, Duke came out on top. That was back in 2017, with the Blue Devils running out 82-81 winners.
Matches from that long ago may not matter much heading into this showdown. But one stat that does tell a story is Mike Krzyzewski’s 9-2 record over Tom Izzo. Krzyzewski is gone now, and it’s up to Jon Scheyer to carry on the run.
Unfortunately for Tom Izzo, we don’t see much changing. Even though both teams have started their 2023/24 season poorly, the Spartans seem to be looking worse than the Blue Devils.
.Please check out our partner table for the best online sportsbooks for wagering on college basketball:
