Duke faces Tennessee State on Monday night and is a big favorite in Las Vegas. Nevertheless, it figures to be an entertaining game.

The biggest reason is the possible debut of freshman phenom Harry Giles.

Giles underwent a knee procedure in the preseason that has held him out to this point, but Coach Mike Krzyzewski says he is hoping to get him back "before Christmas." That could mean a debut Monday against Tennessee State or Wednesday against Elon.

Here's how you can watch Monday:

Viewing information

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina

TV: ESPN2

Live stream (computer): WatchESPN.com

Live stream (mobile): Watch ESPN app

Scouting Report

Tennessee State is a respectable 8-2 with its only losses coming in close contests against NC State and Vanderbilt. The Tigers are averaging just 71 points per game and rely on a scoring-by-committee approach: Wayne Martin, Tahjere McCall and Jordan Reed all average double digits. But the offensive efficiency is ranked 227th in KenPom -- not a great recipe for a matchup against Duke's NCAA-best offense.

Duke has generated that kind of offense even with a MASH unit of players. Now the Blue Devils are nearly at full strength, with Grayson Allen fully healthy (clearly) and freshmen Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden back in the rotation. Oh yeah, they could welcome back the No. 1 recruit, Harry Giles, to make his college debut.

What to watch

Let's be honest, there really aren't too many matchups in this one that draw any intrigue. But Duke as a whole has some serious storylines to monitor.

The last time we saw Allen he was flying through the Las Vegas air against UNLV and playing with a little swagger we've become used to. With Allen dominating the game, Luke Kennard's role offensively was reduced significantly. But Kennard remains one of the best true scorers on the team. So it will be interesting to see how Duke handles that balance.

The main thing to keep an eye on is whether Giles makes his long-awaited debut. Duke assistant Jeff Capel, in an interview with the David Glenn Show, suggested he is nearing a return.

"We think he's close, but we're not exactly sure when he'll be back. The main thing is, we don't want to put him out there where he could re-injure himself."

Capel suggested the hurdle Giles faces in getting on the floor is as much mental as physical, given the knee history.

It could be that having Giles make his debut against a Tennessee State team, at home, would be the perfect way to ease him in.

Odds and pick

KenPom: Duke -23

KenPom projection: Duke: 82 | Tennessee State: 59

Vegas Insider: Duke -25.5

Can Duke cover 25.5? They did all that and more against UNLV -- and that was on the road. Coach K has an absurd 89 percent win percentage at Cameron Indoor -- I'll pick Duke in this one against the spread.