On Friday night, the No. 12 Duke Blue Devils will make the long flight from the East Coast to the Southwest for a date with the No. 17 Arizona Wildcats.

This matchup marks another opportunity for the country to get a good look at Cooper Flagg, the likely top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Thus far, Flagg has led the Blue Devils in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game.

Can the Blue Devils grab their first ranked win of the season after failing to hold off Kentucky or will the Wildcats bounce back at home after a road loss to Wisconsin?

Duke vs. Arizona odds

(10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Duke vs. Arizona prediction

Flagg’s transition from high school to college basketball has been virtually seamless, as he has already established himself as one of the best players in the sport.

At 6-foot-9, Flagg can play and defend multiple positions, giving him the versatility to fit into any role at the next level.

Duke’s offensive talent doesn’t end with Flagg, though, as it has other future pros, such as junior guard Tyrese Proctor, freshman center Khaman Maluach and freshman wing Kon Knueppel. 

Even with a loss, the Blue Devils still rank fourth in adjusted efficiency margin (KenPom) and second in adjusted defensive efficiency. 

The Blue Devils are frightening. They lost by five points to Kentucky despite shooting a putrid 4-for-24 from 3-point land and a few critical late-game Flagg turnovers.

It’s further proof that this team is a legitimate title contender come March.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats continue to be among the country’s fastest and most efficient teams, ranking fourth in adjusted tempo and 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency.

Their trio of returning guards, including Jaden Bradley, Caleb Love and KJ Lewis, can apply pressure in transition as well as any unit in college basketball, as evidenced by the team’s 94.3-point-per-game average.

Unsurprisingly, Arizona is again one of the best rebounding teams, ranking first in offensive rebounding percentage and total rebounding rate.

Still, I have the Blue Devils narrowly squeaking by Arizona on the road.

Duke vs. Arizona pick

Arizona looked sloppy against Wisconsin, giving up backdoor cuts, straight-line drives, open 3-point looks and a game-high 41 points to John Tonje. 

The Wildcats (317th in fouls per game) also fouled Wisconsin an absurd amount, putting it on the charity stripe for 41 free-throw attempts.

Imagine what Flagg, Proctor, Knueppel and Caleb Foster can do to the Wildcats.

Betting on College Basketball?

And this is where the stars could align for Duke’s shooters (11th in 3PAs), as positive regression is inevitable, especially since the Wildcats have been suspect at defending the 3-point line.

Currently, Duke is the more disciplined team, holding opponents to just 25.7% shooting from behind the arc and turning the ball over fewer than 10 times per game.

I’ll take Duke with the points.

THE PICK: Duke +1.5 (-108, DraftKings)

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Andrew Norton handicaps the NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball and football, UFC and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he achieved a standout 14.1% ROI, cashing 60% of his NBA spread picks and leading Tallysight in its SportsIQ metric.