Tonight, the Auburn Tigers head to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face off against the Duke Blue Devils and freshman phenom Cooper Flagg. Auburn, coming off their Maui Invitational Tournament win where senior forward Johni Broome took home tournament MVP, is ranked second in the nation and has the record and marquee wins to back it up.
The Tigers have already taken down four top-25 teams in Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina, and Memphis, although only one of those is a true road win as the other three were neutral site games in Maui.
On the other hand, Duke sits at No. 9 in the latest AP poll rankings. They’re coming off a win against Seattle, but before that, they suffered a tough neutral-site loss to Kansas. Flagg turned the ball over late, allowing the Jayhawks to leave the arena with a win. Duke has struggled against good teams this year, as they are 1-2 against top-25 squads with their only win coming against Arizona, who has since fallen out of the rankings.
Auburn’s key to success has been Broome, who is leading the team in points, rebounds, and assists. On top of that, he leads the entire nation in rebounds with 12.9 per game. Auburn is ranked No. 1 in adjusted offensive efficiency according to Kenpom, and that shows as they also have four guards averaging at least 9.5 points-per-game (PPG) headlined by Chad Baker-Mazara with 12.6 and Denver Jones with 11.1. In my opinion, this Auburn team is the best in the country, even though the AP poll may disagree up to this point.
On Duke’s side, Flagg has been their offensive centerpiece through the first month of the season, as he is averaging 15.9 PPG, and just like Broome, leads his team in points, rebounds, and assists. Kon Knueppel, another Duke freshman, has been another bright spot in the Blue Devils’ offense, averaging 13.4 PPG. Knueppel, along with junior guard Tyrese Proctor, are the only players besides Flagg to average over ten PPGs on this Duke roster.
The Blue Devils’ strong point has been their defense, as they are ranked No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to Kenpom. The way they can win this game is by shutting down Broome, and that falls in the hands of Khaman Maluach. A 7 ‘2″ freshman center, Maluach has an edge in the height department and can use that to his advantage when Broome enters the paint.
This game is a battle of opposites, with Auburn being a great offensive team and Duke having a feisty defense. Right now, it’s hard for me to bet against a team like Auburn, who has handled everyone that has stood in their way. It will be close, and Duke will put up a good fight, but I’m picking the Tigers to win this one.
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