SIU Edwardsville Cougars vs Duke Blue Devils Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2
No. 2 Duke scores 90.0 points per game at Cameron Indoor, but SIU Edwardsville arrives 2-2 with a defense allowing 68.5 this season.
The Matchup
Duke, ranked second in the AP poll, hosts SIU Edwardsville at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham. Duke is 2-1 from the Atlantic Coast Conference, scoring 90.0 points per game and allowing 60.3 this season after a 35-3 campaign last season. SIU Edwardsville is 2-2 from the Ohio Valley Conference, scoring 77.8 per game and allowing 68.5 this season after going 19-13 last season.
The numbers here blend this season with last season because both teams have played fewer than eight games, and for SIU Edwardsville that blend reflects a winning program last season that defended at 64.7 points allowed per game and has carried that defensive discipline into this fall, even without a high volume star. Jordan Pickett leads the Cougars at 11.5 points per game, with Jayden Riley adding 3.2 assists per game and Brennan Miller pulling 6.5 rebounds per game.
Duke is led by Patrick Ngongba II at 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, with Cayden Boozer adding 5.7 assists per game. Pickett, Ngongba and Boozer carry no injury designations.
Key Factors
Duke is overwhelmingly better and will win this game by a wide margin. Ngongba controls the interior, Boozer creates for others, and Cameron Indoor turns small runs into avalanches. The only question is whether Duke sustains full intensity long enough to clear a margin above forty points.
That margin is where SIU Edwardsville becomes live, and the counterpoint is the Cougars defensive identity. SIU Edwardsville allowed 64.7 points per game last season and 68.5 this season, plays with structure, and will not speed up to help Duke run the score. If the Cougars slow possessions, defend without sending Duke to the line in bunches, and get a steady night from Pickett, Duke can dominate every phase and still land short of this enormous number, especially once rotations deepen late.
Duke will control this game from start to finish at home, but SIU Edwardsville defends with enough structure to keep the final margin below a number this extreme. Take SIU Edwardsville Cougars +43.5 at -102.
Game Information
| Date | Friday (11/13) |
|---|---|
| Start Time | 7:00 PM CT |
| How to Watch | CW |
| Venue | Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham |
| Spread | Duke Blue Devils -43.5 |
| Total | 147.5 |
| Moneyline | OFF |
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