The UConn Huskies and Duke Blue Devils are playing live on the NCAA college basketball schedule on Thursday night and the game from the IZOD Center has the number two team in the nation taking on the defending champs and the matchup starts at 8 pm ET on ESPN and streaming on the WatchESPN website as Jahlil Okafor leads the way for Duke.
Duke comes in undefeated and this matchup in New Jersey gives them another chance to play against a high profile team before the conference schedule of games starts up. Duke comes in at 5-0 at home and 9-0 on the season and they have Okafor leading the team in scoring and rebounding with 18 points and nine assists per game. Ryan Boatright and Okafor come in as the high profile players for both teams and Okafor has been very impressive and could be one of the top picks in the NBA draft. Duke is considered to be a national title contender this season and Okafor is one reason why.
Duke comes in after a big win against Elon and they will next play against Toledo on the schedule and that should be another win for the team. Duke has looked as strong as anyone on offense this season, as they are averaging close to 90 points per game and the team is also ranked in the top 10 in assists and field goal percentage. The team is allowing just 60 points per game and they are ranked 31st in the nation in steals and they have the chance to stay undefeated into ACC play with a win here.
Okafor comes in after dropping 25 points and 20 rebounds in the game against Elon and Quinn Cook led the way with four assists. The team now has Toledo and a few more games before the ACC starts and they have a tough conference this season, as they have UNC, Virginia, Miami and Louisville all ranked high. The team still is one of the favorites but they have a tough schedule, as they have those ranked teams along with St. John's and Notre Dame to play. The team has a nice win over Michigan State already this season and they end the year with North Carolina.
UConn comes into the game after a win and they will play against Columbia next and they are just 4-3 on the season after losing Shabazz Napier to the NBA. The team is averaging 68 points per game and they come in having lost three of four games. The team should still be in the mix in the conference, but they need to play better and they come in after losses to West Virginia, Texas and Yale during that stretch. Duke is favored here and they should be rolling for a while undefeated and with the way Okafor is playing, he could be a player of the year candidate.
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