You Kon Cash This Player Prop Tonight

Duke vs. Syracuse, 7:00 ET

Duke vs. Syracuse, 7:00 ET

It was another day, another win for me on the hardwood of college hoops. This is one of the best college season's that I've had, and we still have about a month remaining before the big dance, and hopefully we can boost the bankroll in that time. Today will be slightly different than the articles that I usually put out as this is a player prop instead of a play on the game. Nonetheless, let's try and steal a unit in the game between Duke and Syracuse.

Duke has been unreal since the beginning of the season. They had one of, if not the best, recruiting class. This is nothing new for the Blue Devils, but it hasn't always translated to true success. The reality is that this year the team has been very balanced and good in so many ways. If you watched the last game we made money on with Duke, it was against North Carolina this past Saturday, you saw that they switch everything on defense. They are one of the tallest and most athletic teams in the country. The defense and ability to switch 1 through 5 on all players is not something most NBA teams can boast, let alone college teams. The offense gets plenty of attention for Duke, and rightfully so, they have seven guys that can carry the scoring load on any night. However, the defense was what impressed me the most. Also, watching Cooper Flagg is something that any basketball fan should do. Flagg is leading the Blue Devils in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks for the season. He also leads the team in turnovers by a big margin, but that's fairly understandable with how much he has the ball. He still needs to improve on that even though he is averaging a reasonable 2.7 per game.

The guy I really like here is Kon Kneuppel. He gets a bit lost on the team because of Flagg, but he's been a great piece for Duke. Knueppel is shooting 37.7 from deep this season and averaging 13.5 points per game. He isn't much of a ballhandler for the squad, instead being set up for most of his shots. I also don't see him running around the court like former Blue Devil JJ Redick, but it isn't unlikely to see him coming off some screens and having plays for him to get a shot. What I like about him as well is that he can drive to the basket if he does get the ball. With the attention that Flagg brings and when Tyrese Proctor is on the floor, Kneuppel sees even more open shots. There are only so many people you can guard at one time. We know that Syracuse likes to run a zone as well, and anyone who has played even grade school basketball hears the same thing - you shoot to beat a zone and get to the middle of it to facilitate.

For this game, I fully expect Flagg to be the focal point in the middle of the Syracuse zone. He has shown over and over that he can distribute the ball and make the right play. I don't love his assist totals tonight because college players tend to not be as successful on the road as at home, so I don't know that I trust his teammates, but he does have 5 or more assists in about half of his games, but just one game of five or more in road games. My play is actually on Knueppel. He takes almost seven threes per game on the road, which is more that he does at home. His percentage is a bit lower, but he still averages 2.3 makes per road game. He has hit at least three three-pointers in 10 of 21 games. He has hit three in at four of the six Duke road games. Back Knueppel to hit three tonight at +115.