NEW YORK, Sporting Alert — No. 3 Kansas will open the 2019-20 college basketball season against No. 4 Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
Tonight’s marquee showdown between the pair of Top 5 teams will tip-off at 7:00 pm ET and ESPN along with WatchESPN.com will provide the live television and streaming coverage. Duke vs. Kansas Live Stats | Listen Live Audio Streams
This will be the 13th meeting between two of the winningest programs in NCAA history, with Duke holding a 7-5 advantage over Kansas from the previous 12 games played so far in the series.
The Blue Devils also enter this clash on a two-game winning streak in the Champions Classic and a 5-3 record overall in the annual event.
While Duke will be banking on a talented group of freshmen, the Jayhawks have skilled upperclassmen in senior Udoka Azubuike, junior Silvio De Sousa and sophomore guard Devon Dotson to lead the team.
Azubuike returns after being limited to just nine games last season because of a nagging injury, while fellow postman De Sousa was ineligible for the campaign.
Despite being the lower-ranked team, Duke comes into this game as the favored team, this is according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.
The Blue Devils have a 61.7 percent chance of opening the season with a win, while Kansas has a 38.3 percent chance, according to the BPI.
Senior forward Javin DeLaurier and point guard Tre Jones, who is back for his sophomore season, are set to balance things off with Freshmen Wendell Moore Jr., Cassius Stanley, Vernon Carey Jr. and Matthew Hurt for Duke.
Guards Alex O’Connell and Jordan Goldwire and senior Jack White also return for the Blue Devils.
“We’re going to be amped up and ready to play,” DeLaurier said. “Just making sure that our eyes don’t get too big in the bright lights and we keep ourselves grounded and we’ll be alright.”
