Duke Basketball: Breaking down Blue Devils’ non-conference schedule

PK80 Tournament + ACC/Big 10 Challenge

What does Nike do for co-founder Phil Knight’s 80th birthday? Send sixteen college programs to Portland, Oregon to play in one of the most anticipated preseason tournaments of the season. Alongside Duke, plenty of other elite teams will participate in the PK80 including Butler, Gonzaga, Michigan State, and North Carolina.

In the first round of the PK80, which commences on November 23, the Blue Devils will have an easy matchup against Portland State. Assuming a victory, Duke should advance to the semifinal to face the winner of Butler/Texas the following day. A matchup against Butler would be very intriguing and competitive, while a contest versus Texas should be relatively easy for the Blue Devils. After a day off, Duke will face either Florida, Gonzaga, Stanford, or Ohio State, depending on how the bracket falls. Florida is the opponent Duke should fear to face, as the Gators are expected to be a preseason top 10 team next season. The national runner-up in Gonzaga will also be a difficult top 25 opponent, but not nearly as tough as the Gators. Stanford and Ohio State, two up-and-coming programs, will have trouble against the Blue Devils.

The PK80 offers plenty of marquee non-conference wins for Duke, especially in the later rounds of the tournament. Being crowned as champion of the PK80, which is within reach for the Blue Devils, will be invaluable to their resume.

On November 29, three days after the final PK80 contest, Duke returns to action as it heads to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers of Indiana. Apart of the annual ACC/Big 10 Challenge, Coach K’s group should ideally pull a victory against Indiana, but Assembly Hall’s hostile environment may say otherwise.