Kentucky vs. Duke Point Spread: Cats Open as Underdogs in Champions Classic

A little more than 48 hours away from the highly-anticipated matchup between Kentucky and Duke in the Champions Classic, the fine folks in Las Vegas have been kind enough to grace us with an early line.

With an entirely brand new roster facing a foe filled with future first round draft picks, you can understand why the Wildcats are underdogs. To be precise, Kentucky is a 6.5-point underdog against Duke, according to FanDuel. This early line does not include a total. You’ll have to wait until Monday to get in on that action.

Kentucky and Duke each had a pair of tune-up games ahead of the Champions Classic. Both are 2-0 outright and against the spread, with the overs hitting in every contest.

Kentucky scored at least 100 points in each of its first two games, something the Wildcats have not done since the 1978-79 season. Duke scored 100 against Army on Friday night in a game between Coach K’s two former schools. They came up four points shy of the century mark in the opener against Maine. While most folks are talking about Cooper Flagg, the Maine manager stole the show at Cameron Indoor.

This kid was the Maine Event all along pic.twitter.com/lE8kBgQLBj

— JMann_ (@JMannsTakes) November 6, 2024

Not Ideal Trends for Kentucky

While the ATS trends might seem solid through the first week of the season, history is not exactly on Kentucky’s side in this matchup. This will be just the eighth time these two teams have met since Christian Laettner won the greatest game ever played at the buzzer. The Wildcats are just 2-5 against the Blue Devils. Cameron Mills helped Big Blue Nation receive some revenge in 1998 en route to a National Title. Tyler Ulis put Grayson Allen in a blender during the 2015 Champions Classic.

The Champions Classic is a spectacle that serves as a tip-off to the sport of college basketball. To say Kentucky has performed poorly in the event as of late would be an understatement. Kentucky is 5-8 all-time in the event. The Wildcats have lost four straight Champions Classic appearances and have only one win in the event over the last six seasons.

Mark Pope has a big opportunity early in his tenure. We’ll see if these dogs will be howling in Catlanta when the two teams tip off at approximately 9 pm EST Tuesday night on ESPN.

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