Duke vs. Kansas: Champions Classic 2016 Start Time and Live Stream

The Duke Blue Devils and Kansas Jayhawks will bring some of the intensity of March basketball to November with an early-season showdown on Tuesday.

The two blue-blooded programs have a combined eight national titles and 30 Final Four appearances and headline a loaded Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Kentucky Wildcats and Michigan State Spartans will also face each other in the Big Apple as part of the event.

Duke and Kansas will square off in the second game of the doubleheader. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET, and the game can be live-streamed on WatchESPN.

Here's a preview and prediction for the highly anticipated clash.

Breakdown and Prediction

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As if there was any doubt a battle between Duke and Kansas is a marquee event, the Blue Devils check in at No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25, while the Jayhawks are No. 7.

Duke is off to a 2-0 start with wins against Marist and Grand Canyon, but Kansas dropped its season opener in a back-and-forth affair with Indiana, 103-99.

According to ESPN, Duke holds a 7-3 advantage in the 10 head-to-head games with Kansas, with the first coming in 1985. The Blue Devils won the 1991 NCAA title game against Kansas, but the Jayhawks captured the 2013 Champions Classic game when Andrew Wiggins squared off against Jabari Parker.

The Blue Devils will need to replace Brandon Ingram, Mason Plumlee and Derryck Thornton this season and will look to do so with the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, per Scout.

However, that recruiting class has already taken some hits. Matthew Giles of the Washington Post noted Harry Giles underwent a knee arthroscopy, while Marques Bolden and Jayson Tatum suffered foot injuries.

That will put more of the onus on the backcourt combination of Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen until the freshmen are fully healthy. They can each hit three-pointers, handle the ball as the primary facilitator or attack the basket off the dribble. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports called Allen "the odds-on leader for national player of the year."

Duke also has Matt Jones on the perimeter as a talented defender and Amile Jefferson as a reliable frontcourt option who can control the boards and anchor the interior defense.

On the other side, Kansas will feature a balanced attack with Josh Jackson on the wing, Devonte' Graham and Frank Mason III in the backcourt, and Carlton Bragg Jr. down low.

Graham and Mason bring veteran leadership, and like Kennard and Allen, they can each play with the ball in their hands as facilitators or off the wing as sharpshooters. The backcourt showdown between the four primary Duke and Kansas guards is the battle within the battle to watch in this game.

Despite the talented guards, Jackson can be the marquee player in the Kansas attack as a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 2016 recruit in the nation, per Scout. He relies on an explosive first step that helps him get to the basket, where he is strong enough to finish over interior defenders.

Kansas coach Bill Self appeared on the weekly podcast of Jon Rothstein of Compass Media and compared Jackson to Wiggins, via Gary Bedore of the Kansas City Star:

"I think there are a lot of similarities from a body standpoint. Josh is a terrific athlete. I think Andrew was kind of on a different planet from an athletic ability standpoint. I've never been around a guy with a better first step or better second jump."

While Jackson is one of the best players in the nation, Duke will use Jones and even Jefferson to contain the freshman throughout the game. That will at least keep him in check, and the Kennard-Allen combination will put the Blue Devils over the top with their outside shooting in crunch time.

The Blue Devils will earn the critical win that will boost their resume when the selection committee is handing out its No. 1 seeds in March.

Prediction: Duke 81, Kansas 74