The La Salle Explorers will be in for the fight of their lives on Tuesday as they take on the ninth-ranked Duke Blue Devils in what should be an entertaining bout. Join us for our college basketball odds series where our La Salle-Duke prediction and pick will be revealed.

So far, so good! Fresh off of a gritty one-point win against Southern Indiana, the Explorers have raced off to a 4-0 start and are also undefeated within their home building. However, Tuesday night's contest will be their first true road test and they will be in for a stiff challenge against one of the nation's best. Does La Salle have what it takes to shock the college basketball world in one of the toughest places to play in America?

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils have recovered nicely after losing narrowly at Cameron Indoor Stadium to Arizona with two-straight wins including a nine-point victory against Michigan State and a 30-point thrashing versus Bucknell. Overall, this team is as rock-solid as they come and should be expected to be a formidable force the rest of the way out.

Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Basketball Odds: La Salle-Duke Odds

La Salle: +25.5 (-110)

Duke: -25.5 (-110)

Over: 143.5 (-115)

Under: 143.5 (-105)

How to Watch La Salle vs. Duke 

Time: 7:00 ET/4:00 PT

TV: ACC Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why La Salle Will Cover The Spread

If there is anything that La Salle has excelled in during their four-game winning streak to begin the season, it has been in large part due to head coach Fran Dunphy's coaching excellence. Already having made a trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium when he used to coach the Temple as it was the Owls who pulled off the upset over a top-ten Duke squad back in 2011. All in all, this a well-coached team that has bought into Dunphy's vision of where this program can be by year's end. Alas, don't be surprised if Dunphy's troops have a few tricks up their sleeves in order to shock the Blue Devils and cover the spread in the meantime.

In addition, the best chance that the Explorers have at covering the spread is not only improving their defense which has been spotty at times this season, but also to continue to feed leading scorer Khalil Brantley. After he harassed Southern Indiana all night long en route to dropping 30 points on their heads, finding as many open looks for the junior guard is undoubtedly a no-brainer. Altogether, a heroic effort is going to be needed for La Salle to make this a game, and playing stingy defense while knocking down the shots they're supposed to make will prove to be a must.

Why Duke Will Cover The Spread

On paper, the Blue Devils have plenty of advantages ay first glance that they should take advantage of, but the biggest mismatch that may present itself on the hardwood may come in the form of big man Kyle Filipowski. Although Filipowski is currently nursing a nagging ankle injury, there is not one single soul on the La Salle roster that has what it takes to match up with the seven-footer pound-to-pound. Most recently, it was the sophomore who logged in only 17 minutes on the floor because of his ailing ankle, but even a 75% healthy Filipowski presents some serious problems for the Explorer's defense. While there is a chance that Filipowski doesn't suit up for play, Duke needs their leading scorer if they are going to cover the large 25.5-point spread as favorites.

Not to mention, but Duke is a high-flying and efficient offense as it is. At first glance, the Blue Devils are shooting lights out resulting in shooting over 50% from the floor overall. Even more so, Duke has averaged 82.3 points per game offensively and don't appear to have many weaknesses each night out.

Among other things, winning the turnover battle will ultimately decide this Tuesday evening showdown. Against Bucknell which also came at home, Duke did a splendid job in limiting their own turnovers while flying around the basketball like they were possessed on the defensive end. Oftentimes, the Blue Devils love to turn solid defensive possessions into points on the other hand and it should be expected that Duke will turn up the pressure on defense to try and fluster La Salle into making poor decisions with the basketball.

Final La Salle-Duke Prediction & Pick

College basketball is officially back and in full swing! If you are planning on wagering upon this contest, take the Blue Devils at home to get the job done. Simply put, there are far too many weapons on this Duke roster for La Salle to overcome.

Final La Salle-Duke Prediction & Pick: Duke -25.5 (-110)