The release of the college basketball schedule is some of the most exciting times before the season kicks off. We get to look at all the potential matchups of top-five or top-ten teams and the pre-season tournaments that the top teams are playing in. Today, we take a look at and breakdown the reigning national champion Duke Blue Devils’ non-conference schedule and their ACC opponents.

Non-Conference

2K Classic Benefiting the Wounded Warriors Project: The Blue Devils start their season off at home by kicking off the 2K Classic on November 13 and 14. They will finish off the second half of the tournament at Madison Square Garden playing either Georgetown, VCU, or national champion runnerup Wisconsin in the semifinals and will play in either the final or third-place game depending on the result of their semifinal game.

Kentucky (11/17): This was the matchup everyone was craving for in last season’s National Championship Game, but unfortunately the Wildcats ran into Wisconsin in the Final Four ending their undefeated season. The teams will look much different this upcoming year with the amount of players leaving for the draft or graduation (Quinn Cook). Seven Kentucky players (including Karl Anthony-Towns, Devin Booker, and the Harrison Twins) declared for the draft and add that to Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, and Tyus Jones all leaving from Duke, this game won’t have the same thrill as if it were in the National Championship Game. Despite the new-look rosters, the battle between two blue-blood schools and their two legendary coaches (John Calipari and Mike Krzyzewski) with their star recruits early in the season will be a thriller as they battle in the State Farm Champions Classic in Chicago.

Indiana (12/2): After traveling to Wisconsin last year for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Blue Devils host the Hoosiers this season. Indiana snuck into the NCAA Tournament this year as a ten seed in the midwest regional, but next year they are expected to contend for the Big Ten title and to start the season inside the top 15 of the polls. The matchup to watch out for in this game is Indiana’s senior point guard Yogi Ferrell against Duke’s freshman point guard Derryck Thornton in a battle of experience versus youth. This could be the best shot for a team to knock off Duke's consecutive non-conference home winning streak, which currently stands at 116.

Utah (12/19): The Utes travel to New York this year in hopes of exacting revenge on this young Blue Devils teams after their Sweet 16 loss to them this year. With their only major loss being the graduation of leading scorer Delon Wright, the Utes are not going to be any pushover. The size of Jakob Poeltl will give the Blue Devils problems on the inside, and the returns of Brandon Taylor and Jordan Loveridge should worry the Blue Devils in their home away from home, Madison Square Garden.

Duke’s other non-conference opponents (in order) are Yale, Utah State, Buffalo, Georgia Southern, Elon, and Long Beach State all at home. Every year, Duke gets a great deal of criticism for scheduling one or even zero true road games (like this year). Despite the fact they do not schedule road games, they play the country’s top teams year in, year out on neutral courts and are consistently up top in terms of non-conference schedule.

Breakdown of Conference Opponents

Home and Away: North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, and Louisville. This year, Duke plays three in-state rivals home and away as well as Rick Pitino’s Louisville team. The Tobacco Road Rivalry is one that’s always looked forward to by all college basketball fans, and this season will be no exception with likely another top-ten or even top-five showdown between the teams that should be the “Class of the ACC” this year. The Wolfpack travel to Duke this time around after only hosting them at home last year. However, that one game was significant for the Wolfpack, dominating Duke 87-75.

Wake Forest once again have Duke twice on their schedule. The Blue Devils struggle when they travel to Winston-Salem, however when they go back to Durham, the Demon Deacons struggle mightily against a Duke team that is a class above them. Finally it is Rick Pitino’s Cardinals that get two shots at Coach Krzyzewski and his team. These two coaches are quite familiar with each other as they coached in a game which involved some kind of shot by Christian Laettner, but that’s besides the point. Duke traveled to Louisville last year and comfortably handled the Cardinals in an 11-point victory. This year will be Louisville’s first trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1983 (Louisville won 91-76).

Home Only: Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, and Notre Dame. Likely the toughest opponents on this list are going to be Virginia and Notre Dame. The Cavaliers are always a tricky test whether at home, the road, or in a neutral court because of the stingy defense that the team plays thanks to coach (not the singer), Tony Bennett. With Justin Anderson being the only major loss for Virginia, look for the Wahoos to try and give Coach K and his squad a taste of their own medicine by pulling off a shocking victory at Cameron Indoor. Duke did not have the “Luck of the Irish” last season playing Notre Dame three times, losing twice. The losses of senior guards Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton to Mike Brey’s team hurt the already shallow squad, but the emergence of Bonzie Colson, Zach Auguste, and Demetrius Jackson will help carry the squad into challenging not just Duke, but for the ACC title as well.

The meeting between coaching legends Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski is something that is always looked forward to every year, but with the Orange’s voluntary ban from postseason play and loss of scholarships, the game is going to be bit more relaxed compared to their thrilling affairs from two seasons ago. Virginia Tech isn’t the powerhouse in basketball like they were in football, but regardless of that, they should be able to hang in with the Blue Devils for most of the game. Florida State has pulled off the upset in Durham in recent history so they are not going to be taken lightly by Mike Krzyzewski and his team. Just like Virginia Tech, they are not the powerhouse in basketball like they are in football, but the Seminoles love to create havoc in the ACC with upsets, and that is what they’ll be looking to do in their only meeting against Duke this year.

Away Only: Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Pitt, Boston College. If you are an avid Duke basketball fan or just a college basketball fan in general, you know that Duke plays down to their opponents level in road games. But sometimes, the home team just simply outclasses Duke. Miami has outmatched Duke at least once in two of the last three seasons, with last year’s drubbing of the Blue Devils being the turning point to Duke’s season. Obviously at Miami, the quality of players is a bit of a downgrade compared to Duke, but coach Jim Larranaga gets the most out of his players talent and heart wise to always give his team a shot. If a trip to Tallahassee isn’t Duke’s Achilles heel these last few years, it’s definitely a trip to Coral Gables (the water must be good in Florida for these schools to continue to beat Duke). Clemson is another school that seems to give Duke problems yearly despite being well undermanned. The best years of Clemson basketball against Duke were under Oliver Purnell (former coach of DePaul) but have fared well against the Blue Devils since then. The crowd will be ready to pour on the noise (and the orange for the orange-out) for when the Blue Devils visit the Littlejohn Coliseum this season in what would be one of a substantial upset for the Tigers.

The final “true” major test of the teams from this list for Duke will be Pitt. Not to discredit them but Georgia Tech and Boston College are two teams that are at the basement of the ACC yearly so it would be quite a statement for even just one of them to pull off the upset. Jamie Dixon’s squad will be looking to have a bounceback season after their down year this year. An upset in front of the Oakland Zoo would be a nice remedy for them.

This will be the second consecutive year that Coach K and his team will be led by a group of freshman (Chase Jeter, Derryck Thornton, Luke Kennard, and Brandon Ingram) and a small amount of seniors (Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee). It is going to be extremely challenging to replicate what this past core group did by winning a national title, but even bringing home either a regular season or conference tournament title should be seen as a success for this team.

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.