The NCAA basketball season is officially underway! The Army Academy will face the 9th ranked Duke Blue Devils on Friday night. It's time to continue our college basketball odds series with an Army-Duke prediction and pick based on Army Duke odds.

Army defeated SUNY-New Paltz 83-52 on Tuesday. New Paltz is a small Division III school in New York City, and it's no surprise to see Army defeat them by at least 30 points. Foward Charlie Peterson led Army with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Josh Caldwell scored 14 with six rebounds and five assists. They will now face as tough of an opponent you can face this Friday against Duke.

Duke is fresh off a thrilling victory 79-71 over the University of Kentucky on Tuesday night. One of the nation's top freshman Trevor Keels lit up the arena with 25 points off of 10-18 shooting. Another top freshman, Paolo Banchero scored 22 points and added seven rebounds to go along with his stellar performance. Duke beat a very good Kentucky team and showed right off the bat that they will be one of the top teams in all of the NCAA this season.

Here is how the bookmakers set the Army-Duke odds for Friday night.

College Basketball Odds: Army-Duke Odds

Army: +24.5 (-118)

Duke: -24.5 (-104)

Over: 142.5 (-110)

Under: 142.5 (-110)

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Why Army Could Cover The Spread

This is going to be a tough game for Army to cover this spread. But because it's so high, there is a chance they can cover if they play their best. The first half of this game will be very important, as they will need to keep it close for as long as possible. Duke has the capability to run up the score with ease if things don't go right for Army. It's very early in the season, so it's possible we see this game stay close until late in the game.

Army will need to shut down Keels and Banchero. Those two freshmen looked dominant in their win over Kentucky. If Army can find a way to contain those two then they should have a chance to cover this spread. I think it's safe to say that Army doesn't have much of a chance to win this game. But this can turn into a huge momentum boost for Army if they can keep it close with one of the nation's top teams.

Why Duke Could Cover The Spread

Duke shouldn't have a problem covering this spread. They beat a good Kentucky team by eight on Tuesday, so facing a much weaker opponent shouldn't be an issue. This could be one of those games where they score 100 total points. It's going to be difficult for Army to stop any of Duke's starters. If Duke comes out hot and motivated to win, then they should win big.

Army is obviously not known as a basketball school. Football on the other hand is a different question, but we haven't seen anything from the basketball program to give us an indication they will be successful. With that being said, expect Duke to blow them out.

Final Army-Duke Prediction & Pick

I think Duke will win this game big. This spread gives Army a good chance to cover, but I expect the Duke players to play very well. Because Duke will play so well, the over has a good chance of hitting.

Final Army-Duke Pick: Duke -24.5 (-110) & Over 142.5 (-110)