While the MTE's continue on Friday, the biggest game of the day takes place at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Arizona.
The No. 12 Duke Blue Devils take on the No. 17 Arizona Wildcats at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Both teams have one loss this season, as Duke dropped one to Kentucky at the Champions Classic and Arizona surprisingly was defeated by Wisconsin.
Here's my college basketball same game parlay for Arizona vs. Duke on Friday, Nov. 22.
College Basketball Same Game Parlay for Arizona vs Duke
- Arizona ML (-122)
- Kon Knueppel to Score 15+ Points (+102)
- Alternate Over 150.5 (-295)
Parlay Odds: +361 on FanDuel
Remember to bet responsibly — this is a long shot for a reason.
Arizona took it on the chin last Friday in Madison. The Wildcats’ first real test of the season was ugly, as they allowed 103 points to a typically-anemic Wisconsin Badger offense in a 15-point road loss.
The Wildcats’ biggest issue was a total inability to defend without fouling. The host Badgers took a staggering 47 free throws as a result of 32 Arizona fouls, making 41 of them (87.2%).
That’s simply too many free points. Sure, the home refs may have contributed to it, but Arizona was certainly at fault for a lack of discipline on that end.
Friday should be a different story. Arizona is at home, an edge in and of itself, and Duke is not a team that relies on getting to the charity stripe. Through the early portion of the year, the Blue Devils rank 318th in free throw rate, per KenPom – despite having an athleticism advantage over all of their opponents.
Encouragingly, Arizona also dominated several key sustainable areas against Wisconsin. The Wildcats owned the glass, 52 to 28, and nearly doubled the Badgers inside the arc (24-of-51 compared to 13-of-25).
Only free throws and poor 3-point shooting splits doomed the Wildcats.
Though not directly correlated with an Arizona win, I expect Kon Knueppel to be a prolific scorer on Friday night.
As noted above, Wisconsin burned Arizona from beyond the arc, and Knueppel is easily Duke’s best perimeter shooter. He is big (6-foot-7, 217 pounds) and has a quick release, making him a matchup problem for the Wildcats.
Arizona ranks 264th in defensive 3-point attempt rate, meaning Knueppel will likely get plenty of jumpers.
We also have strong evidence that Knueppel will be a huge part of the offense in a big game. Against Kentucky in the Champions Classic, Knueppel led the Blue Devils in shot attempts, though he converted only a paltry 5-of-20 from the field.
With Knueppel’s shooting ability, I would expect him to go over 14 points in nearly every game he gets 20 attempts (he had just 14 against Kentucky).
Notably, this game has a total near 160 points, and KenPom projects 74 possessions.
That’s enough opportunity for Knueppel to hoist plenty of jumpers – even in a challenging road environment.
This alternate total is well below the full game number of 159.5, so it’s more an addition to bolster the odds here.
Both teams have shown a willingness to play high possession games against similar competition; Arizona racked up a staggering 82 with Wisconsin, while Duke had 75 possessions against Kentucky.
Getting up near the KenPom projection (74 possessions) is expected.
That’s especially true given the potent offenses present here. Arizona can attack Duke in the paint, where the Blue Devils are small any time Khaman Maluach is off the floor – and he’s been banged up.
Meanwhile, Duke’s bevy of offensive options (led by Knueppel and all-world prospect Cooper Flagg) should be able to find some success against a defense that got blitzed by Wisconsin.
If all else fails, this is a near-coin flip line between two outstanding teams. Overtime is not an impossibility. It should not be necessary, but it doesn’t hurt to have in the back pocket.
