Duke vs. Auburn: Prediction, pick, odds, line, TV channel, watch online, live stream of Maui Invitational

The Blue Devils face a tough test vs. Auburn in the Maui Invitational

By Gary Parrish

Nov 20, 2018 at 3:27 pm ET • 1 min read

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Duke is 4-0 and winning by an average of 30 points -- even though it's basically pulled its starters early in all four games. The top-ranked Blue Devils beat Kentucky by 34. Nobody's stayed within 20 of them. So No. 8 Auburn will face a massive challenge here at the Lahaina Civic Center on Tuesday in the first semifinal of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

Still, this should also be Duke's biggest test to date.

Auburn is good.

The Tigers have six of the top eight scorers back from last season's team that won a share of the SEC's regular-season title -- plus Austin Wiley, who was expected to be a starter on last season's team until he was suspended for the entire season, last preseason, because of the FBI investigation that led to the firing of assistant Chuck Person. So, yeah, Bruce Pearl is out-manned from a talent perspective just like every other person who coaches against Duke will be this season. But his team, on paper, is good enough to maybe make things interesting.

Viewing information

When: Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii
TV: ESPN
Live stream: Watch ESPN

Game prediction, pick

Latest odds via SportsLine: Duke -10.5

I'm not silly enough to pick straight-up against a Duke team that's mostly been overwhelming. But +10.5 is a big number for Auburn -- which is experienced, accomplished and ranked 10th at KenPom. In fact, KenPom projects a final score of 82-76. So there seems to be some value with Auburn in this spot. Plus, remember, Bruce Pearl has an interesting track record against great opponents. He went 3-1 in two seasons at Tennessee against Billy Donovan's teams that won back-to-back national championships at Florida -- and he beat John Calipari's top-ranked Memphis team at FedExForum in February 2008. Could Pearl surprise the world again here in Maui? It'll be difficult, undeniably. But, either way, I'm taking the points in this matchup of top-10 teams. Pick: Auburn +10.5.

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