Duke has released the non-conference schedule and Jon Scheyer is not messing around.
The Blue Devils have two solid exhibitions, with Johnny Dawkins bringing his UCF Knights to Cameron, followed by a trip to Knoxville to get beaten up by Rick Barnes’ Tennessee squad. Seriously, it’s a great way to prep for the season.
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Then it’s off to Charlotte for the first-ever Dick Vitale Invitational against the Texas Longhorns before returning home to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts. Duke goes to West Point for what we might call the Mike Krzyzewski Classic on November 8th (Coach K of course is a West Point grad) and then will see the Sycamores of Indiana State back in Cameron on November 14th.
Duke then jets up to the Garden to play Kansas in the Champions Classic on November 18th before heading back to Cameron for the Brotherhood Run against Niagara, coached by Greg Paulus, and Howard, coached by Kenny Blakeney.
SEC power Arkansas is up at the end of the month, on November 27th in Chicago, and then Duke will see another SEC champ, defending national champion Florida, in the ACC/SEC Challenge on December 2nd.
Then there’s a road trip to Michigan State on December 6th, which should be fun, followed by a trip back to the Garden to take on Texas Tech on December 20th.
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With the ACC schedule back to 18 games, Scheyer scheduled a late February tiff with the Michigan Wolverines. That’s on February 21st in Washington, D.C.
That’s a tough slate. The exhibition games don’t count on the schedule but will count when it comes to perceptions. Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan State, Texas Tech and Michigan?
There are no guarantees in any of these seven games. It’s the sort of schedule that Michigan State’s Tom Izzo has put together for years.
When you add in an inevitably improved ACC schedule, it’s going to be really challenging. It should also be really exciting.
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One last note – we think it’s really cool that Scheyer is scheduling the Brotherhood Run games. Seeing former Blue Devils bringing their teams to Cameron is really great.
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Oct. 21 – UCF (Brotherhood Run/exhibition)
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Oct. 26 – @ Tennessee (exhibition)
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Nov. 4 – vs. Texas/Dick Vitale Invitational/Charlotte
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Nov. 8 – Western Carolina
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Nov. 14 – Indiana State
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Nov. 18 – vs. Kansas/Champions Classic/New York City
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Nov. 21 – Niagara/Brotherhood Run
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Nov. 23 – Howard/Brotherhood Run
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Nov. 27 – vs. Arkansas/CBS Thanksgiving Classic/Chicago
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Dec. 2 – Florida/ACC-SEC Challenge
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Dec. 6 – @ Michigan State
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Dec. 20 – vs. Texas Tech/NYC
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Feb. 21 – vs. Michigan/in Washington, D.C.
