⏰ 9:00
📺 espn
📍 ATL

Big boy game number 1 as our number 6 blue devils take on the number 19 wildcats in this matchup of Goliaths. I’m always extra excited for a Kentucky matchup as my maternal side of my family are all Kentucky fans.

Kentucky is coached by Mark Pope, a 1996 national champion from UK and former BYU coach. Pope I’m sure has had this game circled since being hired as his prime time introduction. Nothing would be better then starting his Kentucky career with a dub over the blue devils.

Prediction- we show up big time and give the national an introduction to cooper, kon, and mal

Duke- 102
UK-73

We are favored by 6.5

📺 ACCN
📍 Cameron indoor
⏰ 12:00

I hate noon games and will miss this one live. We are back in action after the big L on Tuesday. Not much to say on this one, should be an easy W. Not sure we will be able to gather much from this one.

We are favored by 25.5

Duke- 102
Wofford- 58

Preview for Saturday's game against Wofford can be found here.

Programming: I'll be there with full coverage.

Predictions:

- Patrick Ngongba II plays for the first time.

- Sion James sits out; Darren Harris plays first-half minutes.

- Kon Knueppel scores at least 20 points.

- For the first game this season, nobody cramps up.

Yes, I know this is a Duke board! For the guys that follow the entire conference closely, I have a question for you. Do you think that Cade Tyson will be a bust for UNC? About 4-5 years ago, they brought in a couple of transfers from Mid Major schools. I can’t remember their names. They did absolutely nothing. Busts. I am wondering if Tyson will do the same. How much pt does he get with Jackson and Powell to compete with?
Thanks.

Please help me by signing this petition.

Duke changed the location which makes it almost impossible to sit in Sec 17 for GA. They did this apparently to bring in a DJ. WTH!?!

Duke gets a break in that it isn't facing ranked team after playing two of them in the last couple of weeks, but stays on the road as the Blue Devils head to Raleigh.

N.C. State is stuck in this Law of the Wolf purgatory. With credit to Joe Giglio, formerly of the N&O, now with The OG: When you expect the most of N.C. State, you get the least. When you expect the least, you get the most.

That's kind of playing out in equal parts this season. N.C. State went into the season as some people's (not mine!) dark horse pick to win the ACC and nosedived to a 3-4 start, getting blown out twice and not looking all that great in the wins. But the Wolfpack has won two games, against Cal and Stanford (so, not the cream of the ACC's crop), and is in position to salvage a bowl out of this season with a freshman QB and young, promising skill players around him.

This game has a lot more juice than I would've thought two weeks ago, honestly. Duke needs to find a way back into the win column and has been the better team; N.C. State has done some damage control on its season and just had its best offensive performance of the season (59-28 win over Stanford).

Programming note: I'll have remote coverage of this game. It's obviously a drivable road trip -- but a friend is getting married on Saturday and I'd rather celebrate with him and his bride-to-be rather than cover a football game. Hopefully that's forgivable -- if any consolation, I'll see Duke's last two games of the regular season.

ICYMI link:

Story on this past weekend's 53-31 loss at Miami.

Champions Classic time!

Preview for tomorrow night's game.

Programming note: I'm leaving first thing in the morning, will be in Atlanta with full coverage.

Predictions:

- Both teams shoot under 37% on 3-pointers.

- Cooper Flagg's cramping issue has been solved.

- Tyrese Proctor leads Duke with 17 points.

- Duke wins by double digits.

Duke arrives at its late-season off week sporting a 7-3 record.

Feels like the Blue Devils, flawed in a couple of ways, have still exceeded just about every expectation. There's some glass-half-full/half-empty here because if you want to dwell on how Duke should have another win or two, there's validity.

But man, I said throughout the summer and fall camp that the main goal for this season was getting to a bowl game, maintaining an upward trajectory of the program and getting to next season with a loaded recruiting class (and seeing what you can do through the portal). Now, we're looking at a season Duke could finish 9-4 or 10-3.

I'm not sure how much coverage I'll have this week. The PFF grades of the N.C. State game will be up ... sometime soon, I think.

⏰ 6:00
📺 ACCN
📍 Cameron indoor

Today we welcome the 1-0 cadets from West Point into Cameron. Guided by second year head coach Kevin Kuwik, army returns their two leading scorers from last years 10-22 team. Duke enters as a 29.5 point favorite.

I think this will be a good second tune up before we get Kentucky next week

Duke-102
Army-54

Anyone think K shows up for this one?

Preview for Friday night's game against Maine.

Programming note: I won't be there but I'll be watching, so I'll have a remote story posted.

Predictions:

- Nobody goes over 20 points.

- Darren Harris gets first-half minutes.

- Sion James is Duke's leading scorer (16-18-point range).

🕰️ 7:00
📍 Cameron indoor
📺 ACCN

I swear these offseasons get shorter but I’m glad to be officially tipping off what should be a great season.

The Maine black bears roll into Cameron still jealous over losing Cooper (jk) and now they’ll get stomped by him. Maine finished last year 15-17. They have been coached by Chris Markwood since March 2022, prior to Maine he had multiple stints at various schools, most notable as a Boston College assistant coach. Chris and his wife both played basketball at Maine.

Prediction- quick easy win with some flexing

Duke- 113
Maine-62

Thank God, IT'S BASKETBALL SEASON.

Preview for tomorrow night's game -- complete with a My Take atop all of the usual notes.

Programming note: I'll be there with full coverage tomorrow night.

Predictions:

- Duke shoots above 40% on 3-pointers.

- Kon Knueppel is the only Blue Devil to score 20-plus points.

- Khaman Maluach has at least 3 blocks, at least 3 Khamans, and double-digit rebounds.

- Cooper Flagg scores 12 points but flirts with a triple-double (rebounds and assists).

Out of the frying pan into the fryer.

Obviously doesn't get much easier for Duke this week as the Blue Devils head down to Miami. The storylines write themselves, with Manny Diaz having been the Hurricanes' coach from 2019-21 and unceremoniously dumped when Miami had the chance to bring home Mario Cristobal from Oregon.

I'm not quite sure what to make of Duke's matchup against Miami ... at least, not yet. The times I've watched Miami (maybe 2 or 3 games) this year, I've thought Cam Ward holds onto the ball too long while waiting for WRs to break open. You figure he won't be able to do that against Duke. Miami's defense also -- at least, on paper -- isn't as good as SMU's. So, if Duke's offense builds on its improvements and finds some more consistency, we could be looking at a 30-plus-point game from the Blue Devils.

Might need to turn turnovers into points, though.

As far as programming this week goes, stay tuned for coverage throughout the week and then for a remote story on the game. Wake Forest has an off week, so I have a little more time on my hands -- though that time also gets swallowed up by basketball coverage when we're at this point of the calendar.

ICYMI: Here's a story from the OT loss to SMU.

Come on Cameron and Cayden, you'll know where's home and what to do.
Login to view embedded media

Charity game brotherhood run!
📺 ACCN
🕰️7:00
📍 Cameron

Duke steps up the exhibition schedule and plays Bobby Hurley squad. To my knowledge this will be the first return to Cameron for Hurley. I’m pretty excited to see some live D1 action for Duke a little early!

Duke-107
AZ St- 80

Transitioning from roster turnover and the end of last season to the start of a new one, so we'll have a new thread covering the buildup to the upcoming season.

Starting with something of a downer -- Darren Harris underwent surgery on a fracture in his wrist.

I don't think it's *that* big of a deal, but it is worth noting and talking about now so that in three months, if we're hearing stuff about him being behind Isaiah Evans and/or Kon Knueppel, we'll have a better idea about why.

Anyone?
OFC

Latest episode- recapping ASU BLOODBATH! Revised preseason predictions, recruiting update, and a Maine prediction.

Subscribe to never miss an episode, follow our YouTube channel. In the event I forget to post.

Login to view embedded media

Somehow, someway, some ... minor miracles of football.

Duke is bowl eligible before November for the first time 2015. Duke got the FSU monkey off its back, beating the Seminoles for the first time in 23 tries. Duke has a top-25 defense ... and an offense that has some issues.

Next up is a Saturday night, primetime, ACC Network showdown with SMU -- the league's newcomer that is still without its first ACC loss. SMU looked like a fairly average team early in the year, changed QBs, and it's boosted them into bowl eligibility, too.

As far as a programming note: I'll be in Durham with full coverage of this one.

ICYMI: Here is the story from Duke's win over FSU.

Preview for tomorrow night's exhibition game. (starting with a small feature on Khaman Maluach)

Programming: I'll be there with full coverage.

Predictions:

- The starting lineup will be what we thought it'd be going into last weekend: Proctor-Foster-Knueppel-Flagg-Maluach.

- Caleb Foster is Duke's leading scorer.

- Darren Harris scores in double figures.

ESPN just broke the news. Press conference scheduled for tomorrow. Hopefully everything is alright. He was one of the better coaches left. Won’t miss his defensive style of play when Duke matches up against UVA in the future. Best of luck to him.

Just saw a headline about him toughing it out through a hairline fracture but didn’t go into detail. First I’ve seen of this.