Duke’s non-conference schedule next season is the kind that can test a team before ACC play even gets rolling.
Jon Scheyer has clearly chosen the hard route. Instead of padding the calendar with easy wins, Duke is loading up on heavyweight matchups against Michigan State, Illinois, UConn, Florida, Texas Tech, Gonzaga, and others. It’s a slate built to challenge the Blue Devils early, and it’s also one that could hand them a loss or two before the conference season arrives.
That reality is part of why one ESPN writer thinks Duke could open a little slowly.
"Duke won't hit its stride before ACC play. The Blue Devils seem to have every asset to succeed in Jon Scheyer's fifth season at the helm.
They have veterans on the roster, including Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell and returnees Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster. They know how to win games, and are coming off back-to-back seasons of being led by the best player in college basketball.
But they also have new parts Scheyer will have to blend together. Don't be surprised if they hit a few rough patches on their way to title contention,” Myron Medcalf wrote.
The concern is understandable. There are still questions about who will take over as the main offensive force, and Scheyer will have to sort out how all the pieces fit. But there’s also plenty of reason to trust Duke’s coach, who has already shown he can take different rosters and keep them winning at a high level.
And in the end, the slow-start prediction may have less to do with Duke’s ceiling than with the quality of the teams standing in its way. In a schedule this loaded, a stumble or two would hardly be a surprise.
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Kansas will bring plenty of intrigue into that meeting, especially with highly rated freshman Tyran Stokes arriving as the kind of player who can change the tone of a game before the season even starts. With the Jayhawks also dealing with significant roster turnover, the exhibition offers an early measuring stick for both programs, and a reminder that these preseason dates can feel a lot more serious than the label suggests. [Read more 🡒]