Is Duke Next to Suffer an Upset?

North Carolina and North Carolina State have both suffered embarrissing loses in the early part of the college basketball season.  UNC, N.C. State and Duke are projected to finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the ACC.  With UNC and N.C. State both losing to unranked teams badly, will Duke finish off the trend today and get a beat down by Minnesota?

Duke will take on Minnesota today at 3:30 P.M. ET in the Battle 4 Atlantis.  Minnesota is coming into the Bahamas looking to take down the No. 5 ranked team in the country and pad their resume for March.

The Blue Devils will look to continue their hot start and look to keep on impressing the country with their talent.

Duke has started the season 3-0 with a win over defending national champions Kentucky.  The Golden Gophers have began the season 4-0 with all four wins by 15 points or more.

Rodney Williams Jr. and Austin Hollins will be the key players for Minnesota today.  Both players average 14.5 points per game and shoot the three ball at a very high percentage.  If Williams Jr. and Hollins can handle Duke’s pressure and limit their turnovers, with their skillset they will keep the Golden gophers in the game.

Mason Plumlee has been spectacular for Duke the entire season and will need to be just as good today against defensive and rebounding team.  Seth Curry is still laboring from his injury, but continues to be effective when it counts.  The Blue Devils guard has had a successful start of the season.

Ryan Kelly, Plumlee, and Curry will need to continue to provide leadership and use their experience throughout the season for the Blue Devils.  All three of these players can score the basketball and are the key to Duke’s success.

Minnesota will need to keep up their hot start and will need to give it their all today if they want to win.  The Golden Gophers are looking to suprise some people this season and with a win over Duke, they will defiantly get their name on the radar.

Behind the likes of Williams Jr., Hollins and Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota can defiantly pull off the upset today and I think that they will shock Blue Devil nation.

Minnesota is a team flying under the radar this season and playing against a team that relies on the three point shot a lot, in Duke.  Any game Duke isn’t making 3’s they can be beat, especially by a team as talented as Minnesota.

It will be close, but I believe Minnesota will come out on top.