Ranked Matchup Highlights Wednesday College Hoops

Baylor vs. Duke, 7:00 ET

2-0 last night in the college ranks (2-0 in NBA and a +348 parlay given out as well), leads to more college basketball tonight. Look, I love hockey, but I'm here to give you guys winners, and until I can figure out what I'm doing wrong on the ice, I'm going to stick with what I know: basketball. Last night in our ranked matchup, the Memphis Tigers made light work of the Virginia Cavaliers. Tonight, I think we see something similar in a ranked matchup between the Baylor Bears and the Duke Blue Devils.

Baylor comes into this season with a nice 9-1 record and ranked as the 10th best team in the nation at the moment. Their record is slightly inflated though as they haven't really played anyone I'm overly impressed by in the early going. They beat Auburn to start the year and that was a close matchup. They beat Florida in another close matchup last month, but outside of those two games, I wouldn't call any of their wins significant. Still, you play who is on your schedule and winning all nine of those games was the goal and the result they got. On Saturday, they faced Michigan State. It was ugly. They lost by 24 points against a Spartans team that has struggled mightily this season. Maybe it was a matter of Michigan State finally figuring it out, and they were insanely hot from the field, but Baylor didn't play good enough defense to stop them at all either. Somehow, Baylor only scored 17 points in the first half and allowed 45 to Michigan State. Still, the Bears shot almost 48% from the field and 31.6% from three. They are usually better three-point shooters, but it still doesn't explain the terrible first half. This should be an interesting game because I don't know that they will have the interior presence to stop Duke. The Duke guards are also athletic and should be able to stop the outside attack from the Baylor backcourt. I am impressed with the Bears though, they have six guys averaging in double figures. They play well as a team, and get everyone involved.

GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 11: Kyle Filipowski (30) of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after dunking the ball during the ACC Championship against the Virginia Cavaliers on March 11, 2023 at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC. (Photo by David Jensen/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Duke had higher expectations than this for their season. It isn't like the season is going down the tubes or anything like that. They sit at a respectable 7-3 on the year. The issue has been the losses they've taken aren't exactly impressive losses. They lost at home, in the second game of the season to Arizona, one of the best teams in the nation. Then they lost two games back-to-back against Arkansas and Georgia Tech. Those two tames were both on the road, and both were close games, but that doesn't mean anything. The talent on Duke, compared to the talent on those squads isn't close. They bounced back with wins over Charlotte and Hofstra, but neither of those teams are at the level of Baylor. The Bears are led by their guards, but Duke is led by their veterans. Kyle Filipowski is a handful for most teams to deal with and I expect him to have a nice game tonight against Baylor. Jeremy Roach is a steady hand for the Blue Devils and I'm guessing he will match up well with whoever they choose to stick him on defensively.

This game is played on the road for both teams in Madison Square Garden. I'm not sure if that bodes well for either team, but Duke will almost certainly have a bigger crowd than Baylor. The "X" factor in this one is Filipowski. If Baylor has no answer for him, the game will be a blowout. However, most possibilities have them at least managing Filipowski. I think Baylor has a better backcourt, and if they play defense like they are capable, the Blue Devils will lose this game. Duke is good, and athletic, and should keep up with the Bears, but I don't think this is their game to win. I'll take Baylor and the points in this.

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