Recruit-rank slight will drive Kentucky

The college basketball season starts opening night with a bang Tuesday in Indianapolis. The first game of the Champions Classic is No. 10 Michigan State versus No. 1 Kansas, but we’ll focus on the second game — No. 4 Duke versus No. 2 Kentucky.

For the third straight year, Duke edged out Kentucky as the topranked recruiting class per 24/7 Sports. Duke landed three of the top five nationally ranked players with R.J. Barrett, Cameron Reddish and Zion Williamson. However, we shouldn’t cry too much for John Calipari as he landed three five-stars ranked in the top 13. Nonetheless, I’d expect Coach Cal to play the disrespect card with his team in this game.

This Duke class has gotten so much hype that I see Kentucky having a bit of a chip on its shoulder here. The Wildcats are a perpetually young team but actually the more experienced team as they likely will start two freshmen to Duke’s four. The X-factor player here could be forward Reid Travis (19.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg), a graduate transfer from Stanford. It has been a long time since there has been a senior leader in Lexington, and Travis certainly provides the leadership they’ve lacked the last few seasons.

I foresee the Wildcats playing like a disrespected team here. I’m also going with the team that may have more continuity early on in the season. THE PLAY: Kentucky, -1.

Wes Reynolds writes for Point Spread Weekly, VSiN’s digital magazine for sports bettors.