Duke Basketball vs. Portland State Vikings preview, live stream, odds

Duke Basketball has shown why they are the No. 1 team in the country so far this season. Now, they head to Oregon to play in the Phil Knight Invitational.

Teams laden with freshmen sometimes take a while to figure themselves out and become the best team they can be. You can look at what a John Calipari Kentucky team looks like in November compared to March to see this phenomenon played out year after year. However, the Duke basketball freshmen under Coach K’s tutelage are playing without a learning curve. They will get their first taste of college tournament play in the PK80 against Portland State.

No. 1 Duke (5-0) is coming off a 29-point win over Furman at Cameron Indoor. Marvin Bagley III once again led Duke in scoring with 24 points. He is averaging a team-high 19.2 points per game on the year, despite exiting the Michigan State game early after getting poked in the eye. Trevon Duval will be overshadowed by Bagley, but the freshman point guard allows Grayson Allen to go back to the more natural shooting guard position and play more off the ball. Duval is averaging 7.6 assists to 1.4 turnovers. He had a career-high 18 points against Furman.

Portland State is 4-0 under first-year head coach Barret Peery. They opened the season by beating their cross-town rival Portland, who is also in PK80. They are coming off a 83-79 win over Utah State. Senior guard Bryce Canda leads the Vikings in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

Here’s how you can watch Thursday’s Duke Blue Devils vs. Portland State Vikings game:

Date: Thursday, Nov. 23
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: Portland, Oregon
Venue: Veterans Memorial Coliseum
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Next: NC State Basketball vs. Northern Iowa Panthers preview

The Blue Devils are favored by 24.5 points against Portland State, and the total is 169.5. Duke has the No. 1 rated offense according to Ken Pomeroy and has scored at least 90 points in three games this season. Portland State has not scored less than 80 points and has scored as many as 111.  Granted, Duke has by far the best defense they have seen, but the Vikings will score enough to contribute to the total going over. As for the spread, 25 points is a ton no matter if it is the No. 1 team against a Big Sky team, or not. However, Duke has won three games by 29 points or more already this season, so if you have to bet a side, the Blue Devils have given you a reason to trust them to bury inferior opponents.

Prediction: Duke 100, Portland State 72