Stars Shine Bright In MSG - Flagg Is A Supernova

Duke vs. Illinois, 8:00 ET

I've mentioned this a few times, but one of the most foolish rules in all of sports betting - at least in my opinion - is that certain states don't allow you to bet on college teams within your state. It is a bit silly for a few reasons - one, you can drive to another state if you really want to and bet it there. I live 25 minutes from Indiana if I really wanted to bet on Illinois games. The other reason is that there are still offshore books that don't care where you live and those are just as easy to have an account with. Lawmakers get in their own way far too often. With all that being said, I live in Illinois, and yes, I'm betting on a game between Duke and Illinois.

Duke is one of the best teams in the country and has one of the best players in the country. I could correct that a bit and argue that they have the single best player in the country in Cooper Flagg. I was looking at draft predictions, and Flagg is universally the #1 pick on all boards - let's not be surprised here, he was before this season started as well. However, one thing I saw fairly interesting was his description of what he could be in the NBA. His comparisons were to Andre Kiralenko (but it listed as Kiralenko+ to signify he would be better) and Scottie Pippen. Pippen is obviously a Hall of Famer and one of the best to ever do it. Watching Flagg this year at Duke gives me a lot of reason to believe that the comparison is fair. He is leading the team in scoring with almost 20 points per game, he leads the team with 7.7 rebounds, is dishing out 4 assists each game - also best on the team. That's just offense, Pippen was a defensive stud too. Flagg leads the team in both steals and blocks as well. His productivity and skills have been unreal this year. He does need to shore up the turnovers and his three point shooting probably can improve, but any time you step on the court with this guy you have a chance to win. Keep in mind too, he plays for Duke - not some random school where he just so happens to be a great player because everyone else is terrible. 

Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood watches during an NCAA basketball game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch/USA Today Network)

Illinois doesn't have a Cooper Flagg, but very few teams in the country can say they have a guy of his caliber. I actually like the roster of the Fighting Illini and think they could make a decent run in the NCAA Tournament. The problem is they went from ranked to now being unranked and really struggling to win games. They are 9-8 in Big 10 play, and are just 17-10 overall. If you watched their game against Wisconsin, they lost by 21 points and didn't shake hands. Before you think it was some sort of poor sportsmanship, it is apparently because their team has had illness issues and they didn't want to pass it on… but… um, they were willing to play for 40 minutes against the Badgers. I don't really get it. Either way, Illinois is just 3-5 against ranked opponents this season, and none of them have been as good as Duke. This game doesn't even give the Illini an added edge because despite them being the home team, it is actually at Madison Square Garden so it is a neutral site. 

The Illini are going to need all the help they can get if they want to pull this one out. Duke should win this game by 15 or more points even on the road. I do lean toward the under because a lot of teams struggle in this situation. However, I'm going to take Cooper Flagg over his points total for this one because I don't think Illinois will have an answer for him and stars put on shows in MSG. Back Flagg to dominate in this one and score in bunches. 

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