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00:00The second full week of the season really gets underway tonight and one of
00:09the first signs of a new year in college basketball of course in non-conference
00:13action is the Champions Classic. Champions, Blue Bloods, staples of the
00:19sport from a program level. Tonight in Atlanta, Georgia we've got two great
00:25matchups to preview for you here. Joe Ranieri and myself will look at this.
00:31John Rothstein joins the show up next to break it down even further. Let's start
00:36Joe with the first of two games tonight in the ATL. It is number one Kansas and
00:43Michigan State. Tom Izzo, of course we know what he brings to this matchup and
00:49of course Bill Self and the top-ranked Jayhawks who did survive an incredible
00:54comeback attempt from North Carolina at home in the fog and a great top 10 tilt
00:59on Friday night. KU remains perfect at 2-0, 92-89. Michigan State has won both
01:06of its two games to start this year as well. Sporty booked as a six and a half
01:10point underdog in Atlanta, total at 150 and a hook. How do you break down the
01:15matchup between the Jayhawks and the Spartans? It feels, I mean we're being
01:21honest, it feels like kind of a low number for Kansas here given the fact
01:25that I've talked to a number of guys that follow Michigan State basketball
01:29and they are all on the consensus that this is one of the worst Michigan State
01:34teams that Tom Izzo has had in a very, very long time. They're unranked. They
01:41said none of the Michigan State starters right now would even sniff the floor for
01:46Kansas which has already faced number nine North Carolina. In the meantime
01:51you've got Michigan State who's played who exactly? Nobody. They're only shooting
01:56about 25% from deep. This is, we'll learn whether or not that's the true
02:03narrative here from Michigan State but all indicators are this is not, I mean
02:09Tom Izzo aside, this is not a good Michigan State team and given what we've
02:14already seen from Kansas it would be hard not to want to lay that number here
02:17tonight. Yeah I would agree with you Joe. There's no doubt that KU is more
02:22battle-tested. Michigan State though has looked good and it's opening two games
02:26of this year against Monmouth and Niagara I understand but the Spartans
02:30have been booked as at least a 20 point favorite in both. They've covered the
02:34number both times. They've scored at least 81 points. They had 96 against
02:39Niagara late last week I believe on Thursday night. KU has scored at least
02:4587 in both of its two games. The fifth most efficient offense in the country
02:49that is Kansas. 150 and a half also feels just a little bit light. So that is the
02:56first game of two tonight in Atlanta. It should be a great one. So too should be
03:02the nightcap. Number six Duke. Number 19 Kentucky. Also a six and a half point
03:09spread but the total up by ten points. 160 and a half. The Blue Devils a six and
03:15a half point favorite against Mark Pope's Wildcats in his first true test
03:19as the head man in Lexington. Of course the game is played in Atlanta. The
03:24talented freshman for Duke against a reassembled roster for Kentucky. How do
03:30you see it tonight in the end? Yeah I see some points in this one here Ben. I
03:36think a lot of star power here. You gotta love Pope has never met a three that he
03:42doesn't like his kids to take here. And I do think obviously Duke has shown an
03:47ability to be able to go toe-to-toe with anybody. I mean Duke has got not one but
03:53two unbelievable freshmen on his team that we're gonna be talking about a lot
03:58I think throughout the season here. So while it might be a new look Kentucky
04:04team I think points are coming. I think the total is what 160? 160 and a half Ben?
04:09I think both these teams can out shoot one another. I think this is gonna be a
04:13fun one. Would not shock me if this thing lands closer to 170 than it does 160.
04:19Duke has looked the part of that national championship favorite despite
04:24being ranked seventh in the AP top 25 in the preseason as you saw up by a spot.
04:31They have scored at least 96 in both of their games. They have covered the number
04:35as at least a 30-point favorite in both of their games. They have gone over
04:40because of it in both of their games. It's not just Cooper Flagg. It's Colin
04:45Knieppel who is a great shooter as well. A lot of other talent for this Duke team
04:52that fill out the roster and some veterans like Tyrese Proctor, Mason
04:56Gillis that add that experience to the young Duke superstar core. I'm big on
05:02Kentucky mainly because I would get in heated arguments with Mark Zitto and
05:06Donnie Rightside trying to tell me that Kentucky was not a top five or top ten
05:10job in college basketball. It is the both of them. Of course Kentucky is and Mark
05:16Pope has brought his style of play from BYU. Again not a three they don't like
05:21and they will shoot it up and it is carried over so far for the Cats a
05:26hundred plus in both games. All being against Wright State and Bucknell I
05:31understand but over in both they're only non cover for the Cats winning by 28
05:36against Bucknell missing out on the cover by a hook but over in both Joe I
05:41agree with you I think there's some points to come tonight in Atlanta
05:44perhaps in both games but certainly in the nightcap. A big statement for both
05:50it's always a big statement for everybody in the Champions Classics one
05:53of the great things about non-conference play in college basketball these games
05:57do not hurt your resume they only provide that positive that benefit of
06:01having a quad one win when the season is through at the end of the year come
06:06selection Sunday should be a great night in the Champions Classic in Atlanta.
06:11Other notable Tuesday games outside of Atlanta. Baylor got beat big in its
06:16opening game of the year against Gonzaga eight days ago back at home only a 15
06:21and a half point favorite against Sam Houston State in Waco. Ole Miss 17 and a
06:25half point favorite against South Alabama. Villanova Villanova and a big
06:31five battle is just a two and a half point favorite against st. Joe's that
06:35should show you how bad things are for Kyle Neptune and the Cats. Temple and
06:41another big five matchup takes on Drexel UCF who pulled off the stunner on
06:45opening night against Texas A&M five and a half point favorite against the
06:49former Dusty May lead team of FAU. Oh God that bottom game gives me chills just
06:56reading it my Syracuse Orange 11 and a half point favorite against the
06:59Toothpaste College that being Colgate. Joe Colgate is a great team the Red
07:04Raiders shoot the crap out of the basketball they are always a tournament
07:08contender because of that out of the Patriot League. Here's why that game
07:11scares the crap the living daylights out of me. It had been a very long time up
07:16until two three seasons ago now that Syracuse had been beaten by its upstate
07:21rival in Central New York Colgate. In fact it had been since 1961-62 that
07:28Colgate had gotten the better of Syracuse and then they beat the Orange
07:32in 2021-22 they beat the Orange again in 2022-23 and last year just a four-point
07:40game for SU to survive. Listen man I hate it. I'm probably not even gonna watch it I don't
07:45want to see it. Syracuse 11 and a half point favorite against Colgate. I don't
07:50know about that that you know those two teams Ben it's Colgate is not going to
07:56be overly impressed or intimidated by any stretch of the imagination taking on
08:01cues here. It is kind of their big game of the year they always like to make a
08:06statement and I wouldn't be laying 11 and a half with Syracuse. I also wouldn't
08:12be laying 15 and a half with Baylor. I like Sam Houston State to take down a
08:16Conference USA title this year. This is an undervalued team with a ton of
08:21experience here. That is a big number 15 and a half to be laying with a team that
08:27can absolutely shoot. Wouldn't shock me if Sam Houston State keeps that thing
08:31closer. And I will just say this Colgate did lose to Drexel by 17 points on
08:37Saturday so maybe not the Colgate team that we have known in the Patriot League
08:42still a very very scary game. Joe Ranieri thank you for your time on this Tuesday
08:48on the early line. We'll spin it with John Rothstein on the other side for
08:52some more college basketball previews and then I'll give the people to look at
08:55the college football playoff rankings revealed and sandwiched in between the
08:59Champions Classic. Ranieri I'll talk to you Friday of course the guy will be
09:03back on the Sports Grid Network all across the place all week long. Yeah in
09:08about 20 minutes man in about 20 minutes.
09:13This might only be November but on this second Tuesday of the month it's a huge
09:20night in college basketball. One of the early signs that college hoops is back
09:26the Champions Classic and a matchup of four bluebloods tonight in Atlanta
09:31Georgia. So to set the stage for that the rest of the slate on this Tuesday
09:35into the second full week of this 2024-25 campaign. Who better to join us than John
09:41Rothstein of CBS Sports joining us here on the early line on behalf of the
09:46FanDuel Sportsbook. John always a pleasure my man how excited are you for
09:51tonight's two games of the Champions Classic in Atlanta? Really excited
09:56because three of the four teams in this event Michigan State Kentucky and Duke
10:01have yet to play games this season against power conference opponents and
10:05you know Ben everybody loves to jump to conclusions over statistics that are
10:10accumulated in by game settings. I am one who feels like every couple of days you
10:15need to offer a PSA that you need to take all stats accumulated in by games
10:20with a grain of salt unless they're exceptionally staggering. So we'll find
10:24out a lot more about the Spartans the Blue Devils and the Wildcats after
10:28tonight. And John I think that's a great point because not only do we break down
10:33the game how close it's going to be to keep players that will impact the
10:36matchups that will dictate the outcome but what we're gonna learn from these
10:40teams on display tonight in Atlanta. It's Bill Self and Tom Izzo. It's number one
10:46Kansas and Michigan State. KU the only team John that you mentioned of the four
10:51in the Champions Classic that has played power conference competition. What a
10:55game it was the top ten tilt on Friday night in Lawrence as KU held off the
10:59second half charge from North Carolina to win 92-89 in a high scoring affair. So
11:06perhaps earlier on the Jayhawks battle tested and the number one team in the
11:10land a six and a half point favorite against Sparty tonight. Just how
11:13competitive John do you expect the opener in Atlanta to look? You know I
11:18consider Kansas to be a heavy favorite in this game simply because I am not
11:22sure if Michigan State will be able to match up inside with Hunter Dickinson.
11:26You know I talked to Tom Izzo about this yesterday. There's a lot of question
11:31marks with this Michigan State team. Jade Nakins is obviously somebody you can
11:35look to as a go-to guy but after that there's a lot of questions with Michigan
11:39State. Izzo knows that the jumps of sophomores Jeremy Fierce, Cohen Carr and
11:44Xavier Booker is exceptionally important for this Michigan State team. He also
11:49knows that Michigan State at some point is going to have to identify a secondary
11:54scorer behind Jade Nakins. Will it be Jackson Kohler? Will it be somebody like
12:00Xavier Booker? Will it be Frankie Fidler the transfer from Omaha? There's still a
12:04lot of questions for the team from East Lansing but I do want to point out Tom
12:08Izzo believes that Jeremy Fierce, the point guard who redshirted last season
12:13can eventually have a four-year impact like a Mateen Cleaves, a Kaelin Lucas, a
12:19Cassius Winston and here is a staggering, staggering thing that stood out from
12:24Michigan State's first two games. During that span Ben, Fierce's assist to
12:28turnover ratio is 16 to 3. That's something I can read into. Yeah
12:33absolutely so and he is going to be the orchestrator of the offense in East
12:37Lansing. John to your point hasn't been great competition yet for MSU just
12:41Monmouth and Niagara but booked as a 20-point favorite at least in both the
12:47Spartans have covered both of those numbers. Now let's get on to the marquee
12:51matchup in the nightcap in the A. It's Duke and Kentucky. A first time to really
12:57introduce himself to the nation as the Cats head coach that is Mark Pope and of
13:03course for John Shire and the Blue Devils it is the full debut of this
13:08incredibly talented young freshman class. John let's start with Duke. What do you
13:13think the Blue Devils will show tonight in Atlanta booked as a six and a half
13:16point favorite against the Wildcats? Positional size and the ability
13:20obviously to take away maybe some of that free-flowing offense that Mark Pope
13:25said he's going to unveil this season. Look you know I spent some time in the
13:30triangle during the preseason and the biggest thing that really had John Shire
13:34excited about this Duke team in addition to his talent the freshman class was the
13:39positional size that Duke had. Duke has everybody on its roster been standing
13:44six foot four or taller. This has a chance unequivocally to be the best
13:49defensive team that John Shire has had in three years at Duke and that's better
13:53than the team two years ago that had Derek Lively in the pivot. I think
13:58another thing you need to look at too is Duke went out and added experience in
14:02the transfer portal with obviously Sion James, Malik Brown and also Mason
14:09Gillis who had a big role in that Purdue team last year that went to the National
14:13Championship game. Those three players will be paramount tonight in defending a
14:16Kentucky team again that is really shooting the ball at a high level
14:20through two games against opponents though were played in by games. Yeah Duke
14:25has looked the part they've been booked as at least a 30-point favorite in their
14:29first two games against Maine and Army easily covering the numbers. Quickly on
14:33the cats John you mentioned the offense for Mark Pope. Kentucky has scored at
14:38least a hundred in its first two games of the year. What will the nation know
14:42about Big Blue Nation following tonight's game in Atlanta? It's gonna be
14:46a completely different style of basketball for people that follow
14:50Kentucky versus what we saw under John Calipari and even prior to that Mark
14:55Pope is an innovative offensive coach who doesn't want the ball to stick he
14:59wants the ball to move he wants obviously things to be free-flowing
15:02offensively. It's going to be fascinating to see and just how unselfish Kentucky
15:07can be and how players who were recruited out of the transfer portal who
15:11played at a lower level now step up away class. Lamont Butler was a terrific
15:17player at San Diego State he is now going from the Mountain West to the
15:20Champions Classic. Kobe Brea was arguably the best shooter in college
15:26basketball last year at Dayton. A hundred made threes 49.8% from
15:30three-point range. He is going from the Atlantic 10 to the Champions Classic.
15:35Omari Williams at from Drexel was going from the CAA to the Champions
15:40Champions Classic. Then I quote Tim Robbins in the Shawshank Redemption. Get
15:45busy living or get busy dying. Andy Dufresne don't tell no lies as
15:50you'll see John as you look at the national championship odds Duke remains
15:54the favorite at a short price at plus $9.50 but plenty of the teams tonight in
15:58Atlanta will be on display. Quickly John 30 seconds left the other games on this
16:03Tuesday which one catches your eye? Villanova St. Joe's 5 o'clock Eastern a
16:08standalone game on a Tuesday afternoon. This was circled when the schedule came
16:13out because it was a big five rivalry game. It is now in bold print because
16:18these two bitter rivals will try and avoid a second loss in the first nine
16:22days of the season. Ben I've said it before I'll say it again this is only
16:27November. Yes it certainly is and that's John Ross we appreciate the time or the
16:34early line next.