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Sometimes you want to make a quick pitstop, empty the bladder, grab a bag of salty snacks and limber up the limbs before hitting the open road again. For the fast-minded who enjoy simple $2 scratchers hoping to uncover the jackpot-winning image, here are quick thoughts and leans on Friday's Duke-Arizona matchup.
No. 12 Duke (3-1) at No. 17 Arizona (2-1)
Date: Friday, November 22
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
I’m your Huckleberry.
As Val Kilmer legendarily said while playing Doc Holliday in the Western classic “Tombstone,” this college hoops enthusiast is all about the action, and hopefully Friday’s Duke-Arizona clash resembles the shootout that took place at the O.K. Corral in 1881. After all, Tucson is only about an hour away from where the memorable gunfight between Wyatt Earp’s lawmen and the felonious Cowboys took place.
No. 12 Blue Devils vs. No. 17 Wildcats at McKale Memorial Center is destined to deliver on the hype.
The pick — Arizona -1 (-110, BetMGM)
The last time Jon Scheyer’s squad battled a highly ranked team, it unraveled late in losing 77-72 to then-No. 19 Kentucky on a neutral court in Atlanta. Duke dominated Maine, Army and Wofford in its other games, but questions remain about how quickly its youth will come of age.
Cooper Flagg is undoubtedly a future No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick and Player of the Year front-runner. The 17-year-old possesses the length, ballhandling skills, shotmaking and defensive chops to hang crooked numbers on anybody. Fellow underclassmen Kon Knueppel and Caleb Foster have also performed at a high level.
The Blue Devils are statistically sound across the board, ranking No. 46 in eFG offense and No. 7 in eFG defense. Their lack of depth and inexperience, however, make them a work in progress.
The Wildcats inexplicably surrendered 103 points to Wisconsin in a road loss last week. That’s on par with Bethune-Cookman scoring 1,000 points on Space Jam’s Tune Squad.
Arizona has ongoing issues with defense (No. 122 in eFG% D) and 3-point shooting (27.4 3PT%), but head coach Tommy Lloyd has the front-court depth and experience to stiff-arm the uninitiated Devils. Caleb Love is the biggest key. When he’s draining outside jumpers, U of A is extremely tough to beat.
The Wildcats’ size and rebounding prowess of Tobe Awaka, Henri Veesaar, Motiejus Krivas and Trey Townsend should be difference makers along with the partisan home crowd. Love will be a factor as well.
The fifth-year senior is very familiar with Duke from his North Carolina days, having averaged 16.8 points per game in his eight career clashes against the school from Durham. With Love likely rising to the occasion against his former archrival, Arizona pops off.
Season record: 4-3, +1.11 units
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