The Duke Blue Devils play their second game of the season against Utah Valley on Saturday night. How will things shake up for the No. 1 team in the country?
TV Schedule: Saturday, Nov. 11, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3
Arena: Cameroon Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
After facing the No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington on Nov. 10, Utah Valley will travel a bit further east to take on the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils in arguably the most difficult opening schedule any team has had in the history of college basketball.
Duke, who will have already likely decimated Elon on Nov. 10, will be ready to get their second win under their belt, knowing that a showdown with No. 2 Michigan State is waiting in the wings.
Duke is far superior to this Utah Valley squad, but you cannot overlook this team while looking ahead to the showdown with the Spartans. The casual fan (especially on the east coast) will have probably never heard of Utah Valley, but this team absolutely embarrassed a BYU team that was expected to be decent last season.
I expect Marvin Bagley to have a better day against Elon than he does against Utah Valley, but the Blue Devils to run away with this one. I think Utah Valley will come out strong against Kentucky before the Wildcats pull away in the second half, but find it a bit harder to find motivation knowing they’re going to get destroyed for a second straight night.
If anything, Utah Valley deserves national respect throughout college basketball by facing both Kentucky on the road and Duke on the road early in the season — even if it’s just to pay for their athletic programs.
Next: 10 predictions for Duke's 2017-18 season
There are Power 5 teams across the country who barely try to schedule top 100 RPI opponents in the hopes of inflating their win total *cough* Georgetown *cough* and Utah Valley should be proud of what their team is doing.
Prediction: Duke 88, Utah Valley 62