Michigan State is about to learn a lot about itself.

The fifth-ranked Spartans (2-0) are staring down their first actual challenge of the regular season, and it's a pretty big one. No. 2 Duke (2-0) awaits on the other side of the United Center court in Chicago during this year's annual Champions Classic. Tip-off is set for about 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Duke's Year So Far

Both teams have done relatively as expected up to this point. MSU took care of business in its first two games against Quinnipiac (96-59) and Toledo (91-61), both at home. The Blue Devils have also opened up their regular season with a pair of "buy games" against weaker competition at home. Those two contests were against Army (84-50) and Coastal Carolina (113-52).

Neither team is lighting it up in the strength of schedule department yet, but Michigan State's two buy games are slightly better tests than Duke's. The average of Quinnipiac's and Toledo's current KenPom ranking -- at the time of this article being written -- is 188.5. For Army and Coastal Carolina, it's 297.

That's nitpicky, though. Duke has still won their two games with complete ease, and by large margins of 34 and 51, respectively. That's what a bona fide national championship contender should be doing against a low-major opponent.

Then there are the Blue Devils' exhibition games. Head coach Jon Scheyer followed the same blueprint Tom Izzo did: an easy home game, a big home game, and then a road game at the end. Duke brushed aside Belmont (102-62) to start, but then things got really impressive when it destroyed Tennessee (103-64) and won at Kansas (90-84).

Results like that, even in an exhibition environment, certainly stand out. They should be taken with a grain of salt, just like Michigan State's losses to UConn and Marquette should be, but beating a well-regarded SEC team by 39 and then winning at Allen Fieldhouse definitely indicates that the Blue Devils are elite, just as they were last year and the year before that.

Key Players To Know, Matchups

This is a massive "big boy" game for MSU's frontcourt. The Spartans have not gotten consistent play at the four or the five up to this point, both in exhibition games and in the frontcourt. Michigan State's first two concerns have prevented those concerns from swelling, at least for now, but this will be the area for Duke to attack.

That's because two of the Blue Devils' best players play center. Patrick Ngongba II has been their best player so far, putting up 19.0 points and 8.5 rebounds. He'll switch between the four and the five, and a big reason for that is to get elite freshman Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje minutes. Boumtje Boumtje is averaging 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game so far in just 19.0 minutes.

Ngognba brings a lot of muscle at 6'11" and 250 pounds, and Boumtje Boumtje provides size and a scary amount of athleticism at 7'2". Boumtje Boumtje would perhaps be the top pick in this year's NBA Draft, but the scary part is that he won't even be eligible yet at 17 years old and will have to remain in college for a second year.

Both Ngongba and Boumtje Boumtje can also shoot the three. There shouldn't be too much worry about Michigan State's Coen Carr and Cam Ward as perimeter defenders, but Anton Bonke and/or Ethan Taylor will be facing major tests in that area.

Duke's backcourt isn't exactly any less talented, either. Cayden Boozer is the point guard, high-caliber Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell is the two-guard, and Dame Sarr runs the three. Blackwell will be a key in this game. He's from Michigan and has averaged 13.8 points per game across five games against MSU in his career, including a 24-point outburst with the Badgers last season. This will be a very tough defensive assignment for freshman Jasiah Jervis and/or Jordan Scott.

Final Thoughts, Prediction

Izzo structured this non-conference schedule extremely well. He's got a consistent pattern of scheduling a challenging game and then playing one or two confidence-builders against low- or mid-major opponents that are good enough to provide a smidge of resistance. Michigan State plays Northern Iowa on Friday after this one before traveling to Tennessee, for example.

Duke's talent just seems a bit overwhelming right now. That is often enough to win these early-season November matchups, where everyone is still soul-searching a little bit. The Spartans will hang around and make this interesting, but the Blue Devils will continue to be a thorn in MSU's side.