Duke's early-season flaws got exposed on Tuesday night in Chicago with Michigan State knocking off the Blue Devils 79-73 in the State Farm Champions Classic.
Jon Scheyer said after the game, simply, "That wasn't Duke basketball." Harsh, but true words.
The team looked disconnected from one another. The offense was painful to watch in the halfcourt with Duke only finding a rhythm when they could get out in transition. Now, Michigan State deserves a lot of credit for making life difficult, but the Blue Devils had plenty of self-inflicted wounds, too.
Friday brings an opportunity for Duke to work out some kinks in a buy game against SIU-Edwardsville before they welcome Illinois to Cameron Indoor on Tuesday for the next significant out-of-conference challenge. With games against Illinois, UConn, and Florida coming in three of the next four after SIUE, the Blue Devils really need to get things figured out in a hurry, or this OOC slate is going to turn nightmarish.
SIUE comes into this game ranked 294th in KenPom and with an overall record of 2-2. Their two wins came over a pair of Division III teams before losing in a close game to Lipscomb and getting blown out by Missouri.
With due respect to Duke's OVC opponent, this should not be much of a game and should provide Scheyer and his team exactly what they need heading into a challenging stretch over the next couple of weeks.
How to watch No. 2 Duke basketball vs. SIU-Edwardsville
- Date: Friday, November 13th
- Time: 7:00 pm ET
- Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium
- How to Watch (TV): CW
- Streaming: fubo TV
- Duke record: 2-1
- SIU-Edwardsville record: 2-2
What are the betting odds for Duke vs. SIU-Edwardsville?
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.
Spread: Duke -44.5
Over/Under: 147.5
Moneyline: N/A
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Injury reports for Duke and SIU-Edwardsville
Duke should be 100% for this game, barring any mystery illnesses like the one that caused Patrick Ngongba to play on Tuesday at far under his capacity.
Who are the announcers for Duke vs. SIU-Edwardsville?
On the call on the CW tomorrow night will be Tom Werme (play-by-play), former Duke star Mike Gminki (analyst), and Carla Metts (sideline reporter).
Duke vs. SIU-Edwardsville series history
Friday night will bring a rarity for Duke: the Blue Devils will meet SIU-Edwardsville for the first time ever. The Cougars were a Division II basketball program until 2008.
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