Duke’s 2026-27 season is about to get its first real test, and the opening look comes against a familiar face in Belmont.
The Blue Devils opened the year with Countdown to Craziness over the weekend, but this week’s scrimmage will give fans their first chance to see the new roster in game action. After that, Duke has two exhibition games lined up against Tennessee on Oct. 20 and Kansas on Oct. 25.
There are a couple of details worth circling before tipoff. Belmont’s new head coach is former Duke assistant Evan Bradds, who moved into the job this offseason at his alma mater. Bradds was a two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year during his playing days with the Bruins.
Duke also has a transfer connection on its own roster in Drew Scharnowski, who came over from Belmont this offseason. Last season, he averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while earning First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference and All-MVC Defensive Team honors.
What stands out most about this Duke group is how much it can throw at an opponent. The Blue Devils look loaded, with size and switchable defenders across the board, and they may be the deepest team in college basketball. That kind of roster gives Jon Scheyer plenty of room to tinker, and this scrimmage should offer an early glimpse at how many combinations he’s willing to test.
The other big storyline is defense. Duke has finished in the top five nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, in each of the last two seasons, and this group has a real chance to push that standard even higher. With this much length, versatility and depth, Scheyer may have built his best defensive team yet.
Offensively, the half-court game figures to be a problem for opponents once Duke is set on defense and ready to run its structure. Thursday night should give the first real sense of how aggressive this team already is. There’s also a good chance Duke could be the tallest team in college basketball this season, which has become a Scheyer trademark.
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A bye week often gives a coaching staff time to sharpen the details, and for Jonathan Patke, Dukes defensive coordinator, it has also meant reinforcing something less tangible: the soul of the unit. The Blue Devils have taken real steps forward on defense this season, sitting near the top nationally in scoring and total defense, and Manny Diaz has pointed to the groups cohesion and its ability to keep opponents from generating easy chunk gains as a major reason.
Georgia Tech brings a different kind of test after making changes on offense, with a new play caller and a new quarterback steering the operation. For Duke, the matchup is less about matching stats than proving its identity holds up when the pictures change, the pace shifts and the game asks the defense to communicate on the fly. The next step for this unit is about whether those improvements still look the same when the pressure rises. [Read more 🡒]
Undefeated Duke Faces Another Chance To Prove This Start Is Real
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Georgia Tech comes in off a bye looking for a reset after a difficult season, and Brent Keys team will try to build around first-year starter Alberto Mendoza. For Duke, the broader question is not just whether it can stay unbeaten, but whether it can keep answering the same test on the road, against a team still searching for traction and a setting that has made this matchup tricky before. [Read more 🡒]
Dukes Frontcourt May Hinge On One Underrated Newcomer
Jon Scheyer keeps circling back to Drew Scharnowski as one of the more intriguing pieces in Dukes offseason haul, and not just because the Belmont transfer arrives with a reputation for bringing size and versatility to the frontcourt. The Blue Devils are trying to sort out a rotation that can hold up once games start counting, and Scharnowskis presence was always going to matter because of how he fits with returning big man Patrick Ngongba and the younger forwards trying to earn minutes.
For now, though, Duke is waiting. Scharnowski is dealing with a knee injury and will not be available for the exhibition against Belmont, which at least delays the first look at how the frontcourt might take shape. Scheyer has indicated the two big men could share the floor often, and there is even a path for Scharnowski to push into the starting mix, a development that would not only change the look of Dukes lineup but also ease the pressure on freshmen Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Cameron Williams as they learn on the fly. [Read more 🡒]