Michigan And Duke Will Be Can't Miss TV... And For Their Shooting

Michigan vs. Duke, 6:30 ET

I would have to look it up, and probably would need to run some sort of request from ChatGPT, but I am not even sure the best way to phrase it. But, today, we have the top four-ranked teams in College Basketball playing each other. #4 Arizona is visiting #2 Houston, and I've already written an article about that game if you care to read it. And, now, we also have #1 Michigan heading into North Carolina to take on #3 Duke.  God bless whoever made this schedule for today's games. 

Of all the teams this season that have had the little number 1 next to their name, I would say that Michigan has probably been the most consistent. They have shown that they can dominate teams when they are at their best, and when they are at their worst, which has only been one game, they still keep the game manageable and close. It sounds fairly obvious, but the Wolverines are the easy pick to win the National Championship because they have the talent, defense, and an offense that is not one-dimensional. I think they have the opportunity here to prove they can compete against anyone. It isn't like Michigan is some afterthought of a program. Sure, they aren't usually quite this great, but they've definitely had good teams in the past. This group is special. I was able to get a win with them against Purdue earlier in the week, so I am hopeful that the unit doesn't go back to the books in this game. 

Jan 20, 2026; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA;  Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May looks on in the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

I think I would argue the most impressive thing about Duke and head coach Jon Scheyer is that they are able to adapt their team very quickly to the new talent. Look, they are going to get top prospects virtually every season, but there are a lot of teams that get really good players and can't figure it out. The Blue Devils had a different team last year to this year, and they have still only lost two games. They have Cameron Boozer, who certainly helps, considering he will likely be a top-three pick in the NBA Draft, and potentially #1 overall. Duke has lost just two games this season, and both of them were very close games. Their most recent loss was against North Carolina, and honestly that was an ugly loss. They were winning with ease at halftime, but they couldn't close it out. The other loss was to Texas Tech who is putting together a very impressive resume of its own (they've beaten Duke, Houston, and Arizona). 

This game is still more of a home game for Duke than it is for Michigan, but it is being played on a neutral court. They are playing at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. While I think Michigan probably wins and covers the spread - they seem to take a great pride in destroying ranked teams - I can't bring myself to bet them on the road, against a really good team. I think they match up well against Duke, so it is a heavy lean, but I think this game goes over the total. I don't love it being in an NBA court, usually that means bad things and to take the under. However, Michigan has gone over this number in every neutral court game this season, and Duke is 2-2 on neutral court games at this number. Duke does have a bit of a slower pace, but we've seen Michigan beat ranked teams by 30, they just don't stop scoring. Give me the over. 

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