Neutral court game. Duke comes off their loss to the Wildcats at home. The Spartans had their own struggles with JMU. The Blue Devils have been the better shooting team to begin the season, shooting 59.3% effectively as compared to Michigan State’s 41.9%. The Spartans have struggled from beyond the arc and may continue as Duke has the guard play to keep them in check.

My simulations make this total 136. I'm on the Under.

Both of these teams endured losses last week, but it's the Spartans loss to James Madison that is cause for concern. Duke is coming off a loss to the Wildcats, but that loss is far more acceptable and I suspect Jon Scheyer will have his time playing with a bit more urgency after a lackluster effort, particularly on the boards. I expect the rebounding to be much better and I expect the Spartans to continue to struggle with their perimter shooting.

Duke burned me good against Arizona at Cameron on Friday but as much as I love Sparty, they aren't as talented as the Wildcats. Then again, MSU is never as talented as other blue-bloods -- it is simply so cohesive as a team come March. Tyson Walker is terrific for MSU, but the Dukies can load up on him and make others beat them, and I'm just not sure this early that Tom Izzo has anyone else (MSU is 2 for 31 from beyond the arc). The Spartans also will be at a size disadvantage.

We wonder about the Blue Devils perhaps getting knocked off their pins by physical opposition, which Arizona certainly provided last week, causing Duke to become too hurried on the attack end, and which Tennessee certainly did when bullying Duke out of the Dance last March. What the Pac-12 Wildcats had, which Sparty doesn’t, however, is a physical post presence like 7-footer Oumar Ballo to bang with Kyle Filipowski. Moreover, MSU’s 3-point shooting (2 for 31 thru the first two games!) has caused more of an alarm in East Lansing than the football team. For the moment, not sure whom Tom Izzo can reply upon for offense other than G Tyson Walker (24,5 ppg). Advantage Duke! (at United Center, Chicago)