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No. 2 Duke collides with UConn Thursday night
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Published: 12/18/2014  at  5:44:00 AM
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DUKE BLUE DEVILS (9-0)

vs. CONNECTICUT HUSKIES (4-3)

IZOD Center - East Rutherford, NJ
Tip-off: Thursday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Duke -10, Total: 138.5

No. 2 Duke looks to remain undefeated when it faces defending national champion Connecticut on Thursday night in New Jersey.

Duke (6-3 ATS) has been outstanding this season, despite relying on four freshmen to carry a big majority of the scoring. The Blue Devils have won all nine of their games by at least 10 points, and are now 8-1 ATS in the past two seasons after two consecutive double-digit wins. These two schools have not played since 2009, but they have a rich history of playing in the NCAA Tournament with Duke winning on a Christian Laettner buzzer beater in the 1990 Elite Eight, but UConn prevailing in both Final Four matchups, winning the 1999 NCAA Championship and then beating the Blue Devils in the 2004 Final Four. The Huskies (1-4 ATS) have had some problems early in the season with three SU losses, but two of those defeats (Texas, Yale) have come by one point on buzzer-beating threes. But they recently bounced back from a three-game losing skid with a resounding 106-85 victory against Coppin State on Sunday thanks to 40 points and 12 boards from Amida Brimah. UConn has done a very good job against teams that average at least 16 assists the past few seasons, going 6-0 ATS in that scenario, and the Blue Devils are one of the best passing teams in college basketball. The only significant injury for either team is Huskies SG Omar Calhoun, who could make his season debut after missing the first seven games with a knee injury.

Which tough defense will propel its team to victory on Wednesday night? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks. The experts have begun the 2014-15 season with a bang, posting a collective 55% ATS mark (73-61) in Best Bets. The five experts are led by StatFox Gary's stellar 64% ATS mark (18-10), while StatFox Brian and StatFox Dave are both 56% ATS (15-12), and StatFox Zach is 54% ATS (14-12) to open the season.

The Blue Devils have been outstanding on the offensive end this season, as Duke now has the inside game to match its three-point shooting. The team enters this game ranked third in the nation in shooting (53.7% FG), fourth in scoring (87.6 PPG), eighth in assists (18.4 APG) and 67th in rebounding (38.3 RPG). Leading the way is freshman C Jahlil Okafor (18.0 PPG, 65% FG, 9.0 RPG), who is one of the most skilled post players to come into college in the past five seasons. He has the strength to overpower his defenders, but he also knows when to make a move rather than just bowling through his opponent. He is very difficult to double-team because he has great passing ability, where he can hit shooters, such as PGs Quinn Cook (14.3 PPG, 3.7 APG, 41% threes) and Tyus Jones (9.8 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.0 RPG). Cook, who played point guard for the team a lot last season, has done a great job moving over to the two-guard position. The Blue Devils have not had the necessary quickness in the backcourt the past few seasons to keep up with the elite teams, but they do this year. SF Justise Winslow (12.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 37% threes) is a terrific athlete who is at his best in the open floor. He is continuing to improve as a defender, which he has the ability to be one of the best in the country.

The Huskies have a lot of talent and potential, but right now, things aren’t clicking like they had hoped. UConn ranks 125th in the nation in shooting (45% FG), 133rd in rebounding (36.3 RPG), 189th in scoring (68.3 PPG) and 231st in rebounding (11.9 RPG). PG Ryan Boatright (18.9 PPG, 4.1 APG, 1.9 SPG) is one of the best scorers in college basketball, despite being undersized. While departed Shabazz Napier was the star of the team last season, Boatright also hit some huge shots in the national title victory against Kentucky. He has battled some injuries through the season, but he is the type of guy that can take over a game on any given night. C Amida Brimah (13.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 70% FG) is coming off one of the best games in college basketball history, as he scored 40 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win against Coppin State. He went 13-of-13 from the field, while connecting on 14-of-16 shots from the foul line. He is known more as a shot blocker (2.9 BPG), but any offense he can give the Huskies is huge. SF Daniel Hamilton (12.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 3.3 APG) is playing some very good basketball as a freshman, as he has shown that he will not be intimidated playing against top competition.


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