The Champions Classic is always the premier event of the college basketball non-conference slate. That statement holds true in 2025-26 as four blue bloods take to "The Mecca" Madison Square Garden for one night on Tuesday.
No. 17 Michigan State duels No. 12 Kentucky in the first game of the evening before No. 24 Kansas and No. 5 Duke square off in game two.
Here's our Champions Classic best bets, including picks and predictions for college basketball's big event on Tuesday, November 18.
Champions Classic Best Bets
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 6:30 p.m. | |
  | 9 p.m. | |
| 9 p.m. | |
| 9 p.m. | |
 | Both Games | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Michigan State vs. Kentucky
Let’s start with the elephant in the room for Big Blue Nation, and that’s Jaland Lowe. The Cats’ point guard was feared to be done for the season after re-injuring his shoulder in practice, but there’s now hope that he could return later in the campaign.
In the short term, that means three players have an opportunity to lead this offense. Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler and Jasper Johnson are Mark Pope’s options at the moment.
Johnson, a blue-chip recruit, was more of a scoring guard in high school, but he played the point in numerous scrimmages leading up to the season. In his first game with Lowe sidelined, he dished out seven assists in just 19 minutes off the bench.
Chandler started at the point and contributed four dimes, with Aberdeen playing off the ball for the majority of his 23 minutes against Eastern Illinois.
The Wildcats have talent at the position, but they don’t have a clear top option at this moment, which I believe opens the door for Tom Izzo and the Spartans to give Kentucky problems at Madison Square Garden.
The Spartans' recipe of half-court basketball (268th in tempo) and hard-nosed defense (14th in KenPom) got them over the hump against Arkansas earlier this season, albeit at home.
Izzo was very high on his frontcourt in the preseason, and now I know why. Sparty’s bigs, Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler, are averaging 26 points, 18 rebounds and five “stocks” per game as a duo.
They’re the reason why Michigan State is fourth in offensive rebounds per game.
Offensively, this team looks the part of an Izzo-coached unit, sharing the ball effortlessly. The Spartans have the highest assist-to-made-basket ratio in the country and have limited their turnovers along the way.
That’ll be critical against a team in search of its point guard identity; the fewer transition opportunities Michigan State gives away, the better its chances are of stealing this game outright.
Pick: Michigan State +5.5
Duke vs. Kansas
This is another “know your personnel” situation. This line has ballooned up to 7.5 due to Darryn Peterson’s hamstring injury. The presumptive No. 1 overall pick in next summer’s NBA draft has been dealing with a minor hamstring strain and cramping for weeks now.
And because it’s a hamstring, the likelihood of reaggregating it, as he did in Kansas’ game against North Carolina, remains high. Head coach Bill Self said yesterday that he isn’t counting on Peterson being available in the “immediate” future. That comment has influenced this spread considerably.
If the Jayhawks are without Peterson for the third straight game, keeping up with Duke is going to prove difficult. Kohl Rosario and Elmarko Jackson will need to play more minutes and pick up the offensive slack in Peterson’s absence.
A higher volume of jumpers from that duo is one thing, but replacing Peterson’s ability to slash to the hole and create for teammates is another thing altogether.
Long-term, Kansas should be able to weather Peterson’s absence by running more of its offense through Flory Bidunga. The Congolese import is flourishing in his second season in Lawrence, averaging 17 points, eight rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
The issue on Tuesday night for Kansas and Bidunga is Duke’s size. The Blue Devils will throw a combination of Cameron Boozer (6-foot-9), Patrick Ngongba II (6-foot-11) and Dame Sarr (6-foot-8) at Bidunga all night long.
Duke’s front line makes it very difficult to score at the rim and really anywhere inside the arc. Opponents are shooting just 39.1% from 2-point range (8th), and they’re swatting nine percent of their opponents' attempts (40th).
Without a big game from Bidunga, I don’t see a path for Kansas to keep this thing close.
Pick: Duke -10
Duke vs. Kansas
By Jordan Mann
Duke vs Kansas. Jon Scheyer vs Bill Self. Self is 2-0 against Scheyer, as his Jayhawks won 69-64 in 2022 and 75-72 in 2024.
Duke has been rolling on the offensive side of the ball this season. The Blue Devils are coming off back-to-back 100+ point games and have had three straight games of 20+ assists.
But now here's their first real test against a well-coached defense.
With or without Darryn Peterson, Self’s team will crowd the floor against Cameron Boozer and create havoc in the driving lanes. In their matchup in 2022, Kansas forced 18 turnovers against Duke, and in the 2024 matchup, the Jayhawks forced 16.
As dominant as Boozer has been, I think we see a similar defensive strategy to the one Texas showed against Duke in the first game of the season. The Longhorns held Boozer scoreless in the first half.
So, who steps up for Duke? Isaiah Evans is the popular choice since he was the guy against Texas, but can he be that again when Kansas tries to take Boozer out of the game?
Without their 21.5-point-per-game scorer, who puts the ball in the bucket for Kansas? The Jayhawks have yet to eclipse 80 points this season and rank 55th on KenPom in offensive efficiency.
As a betting man, I would bet against the Jayhawks figuring out their offensive identity against a top-10 defense that's held opponents to 32% from the field this season. I expect the Jayhawks to be overwhelmed by Duke’s on-ball pressure, led by Caleb Foster and Dame Sarr, which will result in low-percentage shots.
All in all, Duke has the better horses and wins this game, but it won't come without Kansas making things difficult on offense, at least in the first half.
Pick: Under 151.5
Duke vs. Kansas
By Sean Paul
The most important aspect of this Kansas/Duke game is who isn’t on the court — and that’s freshman phenom Darryn Peterson.
He’s the only legitimate guard who can score on the Jayhawks' roster. They have a bunch of glue guys — like Melvin Council Jr. and Elmarko Jackson — but nobody who can dominate with scoring quite like Peterson.
That signals a low-scoring game. Kansas also has a stout defense, ranking 11th in defensive efficiency. The Jayhawks are built to make this a rock fight with Peterson on the shelf.
Duke is also built to win a track meet if needed, but it can also win via a rock fight. The Blue Devils are pretty average in adjusted tempo, but they're so efficient offensively and so disruptive defensively.
I’d be a bit surprised if Kansas can crack the 70-point mark against Duke. And since I see Duke winning by double-digits, I believe this game finishes something like 80-65.
These two teams are in totally different classes without Peterson.
Pick: Under 151.5 (Play to 148)
Champions Classic Parlay
Another year. Another Champions Classic. Another chance for me to talk you into betting both underdogs.
I’ve spouted this pick in the past, and I still think the logic is sound. The theory is simple: It's November. Bookmakers have very limited sample sizes on these teams, especially in the era of transfer portal mania.
With that in mind, you're likely to see some lines and results that might seem surprising in hindsight. In the history of this event, this theory has checked out. Underdogs are 13-6 against the spread and 9-10 straight up in the Champions Classic’s 10-year history.
This year, you get the chance to take both Bill Self and Tom Izzo getting points, with varying degrees of excitement associated with their clubs.
Michigan State is off to a strong start and has its work cut out for it with Kentucky, yet it's more than capable of toppling Big Blue.
Kansas has a taller task, facing Duke without the help of injured freshman star Darryn Peterson.
I’ll still trust the theory as an auto-bet, with a second glance at a two-team moneyline parlay paying out over +1600 for those really buying into what I’m selling.
Pick: Michigan State +5.5 | Kansas +10.5
