Duke Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Blue Devils
Non-Conference Breakdown
November 6th, Kentucky, Neutral
What a compelling matchup to open the season. Duke and Kentucky will square off in the annual Champions classic and both teams should be preseason top 5 teams. Kentucky has its usual crop of 5-star freshmen, but they lack the future lottery picks that Wildcat fans have become so accustomed to. Keldon Johnson has the best chance to be a high draft pick with his athleticism and defensive abilities. Sharp shooting wing Tyler Herro could be the team’s leading scorer as he showed in the Bahamas that he can score in a variety of ways and is not solely a long-range threat.
However, this Kentucky team has multiple returners who will be excellent college players, albeit not first-round NBA prospects. PJ Washington is the biggest name and he is a physical big man who can put the ball on the floor and score inside. Stanford grad transfer Reid Travis is a proven commodity who has posted huge numbers in the Pac-12. His addition gives Kentucky even more experience which cannot be overstated.
November 19th-21st Maui Invitational, First Round vs San Diego State
This year’s Maui Invitational is absolutely loaded. Gonzaga and Auburn will be top ten teams, Xavier and Iowa State should be right outside the top 25, and Arizona should not be ruled out, despite losing all five starters from last year. Duke could face Auburn in the second round and Gonzaga in the Championship which would create some most watch early season games.
That being said, the Blue Devils cannot look past San Diego State. After missing the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and 2017, the Aztecs looked like they would be left out for a third consecutive season, but a late run gave them the MWC auto-bid. They lost an extremely tight game to Houston in the first round, but bring back most of their main contributors. PG Devin Watson is the biggest impact player, but both Matt Mitchell and Jalen McDaniels look ready to take the next step as sophomores. The Aztecs are probably a bubble team so they are good enough to make this interesting.
November 27th, Indiana, Home
Duke’s arduous November schedule continues with a home game versus Indiana in the Big Ten-ACC challenge. Indiana has one of the best freshmen in the entire country, Romeo Langford, so NBA scouts will flock to this game. The Hoosier’s other standout, Juwan Morgan, is a prospect in his own right and an argument can be made that he is the team’s most crucial piece. Morgan is a versatile PF who can handle the ball and averaged 16.5 ppg and 7.4 rpg as a junior. If Indiana can get competent PG play from either Devonte Green or Rob Phinisee and can improve its three-point shooting, the Hoosiers will be a top 25 club.
December 20th, Texas Tech, Neutral
Texas Tech will not be as good as they were last season since Keenan Evans and Zhaire Smith are off to the Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers respectively. They do return Jarrett Culver who has a chance to lead this team back to the NCAA Tournament. The Red Raiders injected necessary talent into the roster after losing five key players, by adding grad transfers (Matt Mooney and Tariq Owens), a talented freshman (Khavon Moore), and a standout JUCO (Deshaun Corprew) which should be enough to keep them in the mix for a tournament berth.
February 2nd, St. John’s, Home
The last game on Duke’s non-conference schedule comes in the middle of conference play when St. John’s travels to Cameron. The Red Storm pulled off the shocking upset last season and should be a much better team this season if Mustapha Heron is eligible. Electric scoring guard Shamorie Ponds is the front-runner for Big East player of the year and adding Heron would give SJU two proven high-level scorers. Justin Simon is often overlooked as a glue guy and Marvin Clark is an excellent floor spacer at PF, but there are concerns at center. South Carolina transfer Sedee Keita needs to make an immediate impact in the frontcourt, but if he does, there is no reason why they cannot be a top 25 team.