Who wins Kentucky vs. Duke?

While we’ve been focused on this football season, basketball is here, and the 10th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats open the season in a huge game against the 9th-ranked Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden in the Champions Classic.

The Cats have played two exhibition games and shown a lot of bright spots through those games, but also have shown some holes, particularly defensively. Miles College was able to shoot the lights out against Kentucky in the last exhibition game, but Kentucky has plenty of experience, depth, and outside shooting of its own.

As for the Blue Devils, they've played one exhibition game, a 106-38 win over Winston-Salem State.

Kentucky will have to figure out how to contain superstar freshman Paolo Banchero, a player Kentucky heavily recruited. The 6-foot-10 Banchero figures to present some problems against a Kentucky frontcourt that has some depth issues.

On the other hand, Duke will have to figure out how to defend a deep and talented Kentucky backcourt that has the ability to spread the floor, knock down shots, and get to the rim.

A win on Tuesday would vault Kentucky up the early rankings, and the Cats could be 8-0 going into Notre Dame on Dec. 11, barring any upsets. A loss doesn’t end the season, but a big win against Duke early in the season would provide a huge momentum boost for a Kentucky squad looking to be a contender this season.

Plus, wouldn’t it be great to get a win over Coach K in his final season?

So, who do you think is going to pick up a win? Make your pick in the poll below!

A Sea of Blue comes jam-packed with the best Kentucky Wildcats links, news, analysis, and some other fun stuff for our readers, so make sure you go ‘like’ our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. And as always, Go Cats!