ATLANTA (WNCN) — After an opening week in which the Duke men’s basketball team went 2-0 and moved up a spot in the AP top 25 rankings, the Blue Devils are facing their first big test of the very young season against a fellow blue blood program.
No. 6 Duke (2-0) and No. 19 Kentucky (2-0) are set for a top 25 showdown in the State Farm Champions Classic Tuesday night. The game — the second of a double-header — is set to tip off at State Farm Arena in Atlanta at 9 p.m.
The Blue Devils handily won both their first two games of the season. Freshman Kon Knueppel, who won this season’s first Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Week honor, is the team’s leading scorer so far, averaging 18.5 points on 56.5% shooting from the field through two contests.
The Wildcats, in their first season under new head coach Mark Pope. have also won their first two games by large margins. Kentucky has seven players averaging double-digits in scoring so far, led by Koby Brea’s 19 points per game. Amari Williams is averaging a double-double — 12.5 points and 13.5 rebounds — through the two contests.
This will be the 24th meeting overall between the two storied programs, with the Wildcats holding a slight 12-11 edge in the all-time series. The last time they met was another neutral site game in 2021, when both teams were ranked in the top 10. In that matchup, No. 9 Duke topped No. 10 Kentucky 79-71 at Madison Square Garden.
The Blue Devils are set to host Wofford in their next game. That contest will be a Saturday afternoon affair at Cameron Indoor Stadium.