Duquesne vs Kentucky Prediction, Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds & Picks
No. 4 Wildcats Await Visiting Dukes
Both Teams Coming Off Season-Opening Victories
The No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats go for a second straight home win to start the 2022-23 campaign when they host the Duquesne Dukes for a non-conference clash on Friday night. Kentucky had an easy time in its season opener, routing visiting Howard on Monday night.
Duquesne had a similar start to the season, opening with a home rout of Montana on Tuesday night. Both teams are looking to keep their momentum going forward, so to help with your betting online, take a look at our in-depth preview of this contest.
Let’s check the latest college basketball odds, stats, injury reports, and college basketball lines for Duquesne vs Kentucky. We’ve plenty of NCAA basketball odds for you to consider.
Grant Leads Duquesne To Easy Opener
The Duquesne Dukes are hoping to improve on last season’s 6-24 record, and they’re off to a very good start after Tuesday’s season-opening rout of the Montana Grizzlies. This is a completely different team from last season, with coach Keith Dambrot welcoming 10 first-year players to his roster for 2022-23.
One of those newcomers, Miami (Ohio) transfer Dae Dae Grant, led the way in the easy victory with a perfect night shooting. Grant, a junior guard, was 8-of-8 from the field, including 6-of-6 from 3-point range, while also hitting all three of his free throw attempts on the way to 25 points.
After Grant, Duquesne had a balanced attack, with freshman forward Matus Hronsk adding 13 points off the bench and starters Joe Reece, a Bowling Green transfer, and Quincy McGriff, a first-year sophomore, contributing 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Dukes shot 64.4% from the floor in the win, the best shooting performance by the team under Dambrot and the first game of over 60% shooting for the team since the 2015-16 season.
Despite Injuries, Kentucky Shows Depth
As usual, John Calipari has a wealth of talent on his Kentucky Wildcats roster, and he’s just trying to figure out the best way to utilize it. Not having All-American forward Oscar Tshiebwe, All-SEC guard Sahvir Wheeler and rotation player Daimion Collins didn’t slow down the Wildcats’ offense in the opener as they went for 95 in an easy win over Howard. Calipari now needs to get settled on a rotation, especially when those three players are ready to return to the lineup.
“One of the things I’m trying to do is, I’m holding guys to a high standard because they’re going to be fighting for minutes,” Calipari said about determining his rotation. “Most of it will come down to, ‘Are you breaking down defensively? Are you not rebounding balls? Then I got to play someone else.’ And (if) there’s two or three of you, whoever’s the best defender, the best rebounder, (will be the) guy who’s out there.“
Tshiebwe will certainly get his minutes, though he’ll be limited once he does return as he is working his way back from knee surgery. The reigning Wooden Award winner, Tshiebwe led the nation in rebounding a season ago (15.1 per game) while also scoring a team-high 17.4 points per contest.
Freshman guard Cason Wallace is certainly going to be a big part of any rotation. He made his collegiate debut on Monday with 15 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Wallace will be the glue that holds the Wildcats together while Wheeler recovers from his own knee injury.
Duquesne vs Kentucky Game Injuries
Duquesne vs Kentucky Head-To-Head
This will be the third all-time meeting between the Duquesne Dukes and the Kentucky Wildcats on the hardwood. Not surprisingly, Kentucky is 2-0 against Duquesne, with both games being played in Lexington.
The last time these two teams met was in 2016 when the No. 2 Wildcats routed the Dukes, 93-59. The college basketball lines for Friday’s game are anticipating the same kind of result in this one, with the Wildcat’s heavy favorites to get the win.
Duquesne vs Kentucky Game Information
- Game: Duquesne (1-0) vs Kentucky (1-0)
- Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
- Day/Time: Friday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m. ET
- Duquesne vs Kentucky Live stream: TBS.com
Duquesne vs Kentucky Betting Lines
Duquesne vs Kentucky Picks & Prediction
The Kentucky Wildcats may be missing some key pieces for this game, but they should have plenty of firepowers to take care of the visiting Duquesne Dukes. Duquesne might keep it close for a little bit, but look for the Wildcats to pull away for the easy victory.
When doing your college basketball betting, take Kentucky to win and cover at home.
