Five keys to a Duke basketball victory against Michigan State

Duke basketball is looking for a Top-10 win over the Michigan State Spartans.

After shaking off any rust and getting a chance to face an opponent for the first time, the Duke basketball team is ready to jump into the deep end.

Duke (1-0) jumped from No. 9 to No. 6 in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll following the first week of the season, and Michigan State (2-0) rose from No. 13 to No. 8.

It’ll be a Top-10 battle at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in front of an empty Cameron Indoor Stadium, but that does not mean that there will not be any eyes on Durham as the Champions Classic, first set for Chicago, is always the marquee event of the early college basketball schedule.

The Blue Devils and the Spartans are the opening game before No. 20 Kentucky and No. 7 Kansas cap off the night from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

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Duke’s lone game was on Saturday afternoon against Coppin State after its scheduled game against Gardner-Webb on Wednesday was canceled.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo tested positive for COVID-19 in the offseason, but the Spartans never stopped practicing and rolled into the regular season with wins over Eastern Michigan and Notre Dame.

Both teams did lose a lot of talent from a season ago, most notably their starting point guards in Tre Jones and Cassius Winston, but the Hall of Fame head coaches know how to restock and reload entering the 2020-21 season.

Duke basketball ready to start new streak against Michigan State

Following its heartbreaking loss in the 2019 NCAA Tournament to the Spartans, Duke got its revenge over Michigan State with a win in East Lansing last winter.

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Prior to the loss, the Blue Devils had seven straight wins over Tom Izzo’s squad, but significant strides will have to be made by Duke if it wants to start a new winning streak against Michigan State.