This weekend will once again provide a deep slate of terrific games. We’re in for several marquee non-conference clashes between Top 25 teams, plus a couple of early Big Ten matchups as the league rolls out its traditional December two-game conference slate.
Here are our favorite plays in a loaded weekend.
Michigan State Moneyline (-110) vs. Duke (Saturday)
This is the most exciting matchup of the weekend for us. Michigan State has been a covering machine at home in recent years and some think this is the best team Tom Izzo has had in a long time. Duke has gotten off to a sharp start and expectations are high as they always are in Durham. The Blue Devils have the favorite for the John Wooden Award in Cameron Boozer and he’s been incredible. It will be interesting to see how the Spartans’ physicality and that environment impact him.
Duke’s offense had some issues against an older Florida team and the offense was surprisingly bad. The Blue Devils’ guards will have to play better if they want to win this one. The environment at East Lansing should impact this game. Duke has played against some tough matchups this year, but all have been at home or neutral sites. The Breslin Center is a lot different than a game against Army in West Point. Sparty should give the Blue Devils their first loss of the season.
Dayton vs. Virginia Over 144.5 (-110) (Saturday)
Virginia -5.5 (-110) vs. Dayton (Saturday)
Aside from an ugly showing against Butler in White Sulphur Springs in the Greenbrier Tip-Off, the Virginia offense has been awesome in year one under Ryan Odom. The days of the Cavaliers finishing games in the 50’s are done. They’ve scored 80 or more points in seven of eight games this season. Dayton has been up and down scoring, but ithe Flyers have scored 79 or more points in three straight games and two of those matchups were against Georgetown and BYU who can be compared to Virginia in some areas.
The ability to get good scoring off the bench has been crucial for Virginia’s success and also important when playing overs in CBB. Dayton hasn’t had nearly as much success in that department. The fanbase has bought into what Ryan Odom is doing Charlottesville and you have to imagine they’ll have no issue traveling down the road to Charlotte for this game.
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Creighton to Cover vs. Nebraska (Sunday)
It hasn’t been the start to the season that Greg McDermott has wanted for the Bluejays. That’s not a massive surprise given the Bluejays’ roster turnover. They’ve played better as the year has gone on and have a perfect chance to get their fanbase bought back in here.
Nebraska has looked good, but Creighton will be the Cornhuskers’ toughest test so far. Josh Dix and Owen Freeman are familiar with this environment from their time at Iowa. Creighton didn’t show well in its matchup with Gonzaga or the Players Era Festival, but the Jays were able to finish with a win against Oregon. These tough tests should help Creighton prepare for another high level squad in Nebraska. The Huskers will be favored, but the matchup between these in-state rivals has been back and forth in recent years. We should see a tight one here.
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