The Duke Blue Devils laid a pretty solid beating on San Diego State last weekend, and I think the Utes are a lot closer to the caliber of the Aztecs than they are to that of Duke. In fact, Utah played the Aztecs during the regular season and lost by a score of 53-49 at San Diego. They put up some big numbers this year, but for the most part against inferior opposition in the Pac-12.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Previous History - During the regular season the Utes played teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 10 of their games, and lost seven of those 10. Duke played 13 teams that qualified for the tournament, winning 10 of those games.

2. Jahlil Okafor - This future superstar scored 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting against the Aztecs, and he's tallied 20+ in three straight. "Okafor is a load," Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. "He is hard to guard. ... But he's not the lone ranger. Winslow can play. They have a terrific team, and they can play. They played like a No. 1 team today."

3. X-Factor - There's no question that the ACC is the stronger of the two conferences, as evidenced by Duke's 7-3 ATS record in it's last 10 versus Pac-12 teams.

Selection: This is a play on the Duke Blue Devils (10*)