Surprising Team Total Play For Army Vs Duke

Army vs. Duke, 6:00 ET

One of the biggest knocks about the NBA is that the players don't actually like playing basketball. From a betting standpoint, this can be incredibly frustrating because there are clearly some nights where players, and even full teams, just don't care. From a personal standpoint, I somewhat get it. If you had been doing this thing, probably pushed to do it rather than out of love, for 20+ years, you probably would not care, too. A lot of the NBA players get there and their families look at it winning the lottery, and the player just happens to be really good at it, but may not care about it. In college, for the most part, this isn't the problem as 99% of the players won't play again in a professional setting. I bring this up because tonight Army takes on Duke and I think Duke has some guys that truly care and love playing basketball. 

When you think of Army, I would venture to guess that the last thing on the list associated with them is basketball. However, they do have a team, and they are actually fairly decent considering the fact that this isn't really an "athlete" school. They started their season with a game against Albany and were able to escape with an 8-point victory. This was a game that Army was in control of for the majority of the game, but never quite got full separation and had to play tough until the final buzzer. The team was led in points by Josh Scovens, a sophomore who put in 22 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out two assists. He had some nice scoring games last season, but only three when he reached 20 or more points. Outside of Scovens, there are very few players to be excited about on the Army roster. This team is rather undersized with no player taller than 6'9". Their starting forward, AJ Allenspach, also had four fouls in the last game and was limited with his minutes. His backup, Tate Laczkowski, did a great job of filling in, though.

Nov 4, 2024; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg (2) brings the ball down court against the Maine Black Bears at Cameron Indoor Stadium during the second half. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

With Duke, it is the opposite of Army. For the Blue Devils, the first thing you think of about that school is the basketball program. Duke almost always has a very good program, but that doesn't mean they are the best team in the country. I feel like that might be different this season. Not only did they obtain the guy who is likely to be the #1 overall pick, Cooper Flagg, but they also have a very talented scoring guard in Ken Knueppel. I want to spend a moment on Flagg. There are a ton of players out there that are dubbed the next big thing, and Flagg has been tagged as one of the top players in the nation for years. But, watching Flagg you can see the guy loves to play basketball. I understand it was the first college basketball game of his life, but against Maine, where he comes from, he still played tough the whole time he was on the floor. He is a good scorer, capable and willing defender, and seems to be a decent leader/teammate. Couple that with Knueppel who can shoot, drive, and provide energy, this Duke team is fun to watch.

Tonight, Duke is a massive favorite, and they should be. Army has very little in terms of talent compared to Duke. I do think they are likely to score more than 54.5 points and think that is a good look for the game, but if Duke chooses to lock down on them defensively, they can do it. The pace of the game may be a little slow, for Duke to put up 90 points in this game. Maine is not a great team, but they scored 62 points on 36.8% shooting with just 57 shots. 17 of their points came from the free throw line as well. I'm taking a chance that this blowout loosens up the Duke defense a bit and allows Army to score 55 or more points tonight. 

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