Duke Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Blue Devils
Schedule
Not a whole lot is known about Duke’s 2020-21 schedule even though we are less than two weeks away from the start of the season, but here is what we do know so far:
November 25th: vs. Gardner Webb
Gardner Webb made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history in 2019 but in 2019-20 they struggled a bit as they went 11-7 in the Big South, and 16-16 overall.
The Blue Devils and the Bulldogs will kick off their seasons against one another the day before Thanksgiving at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
November 28th: vs. Coppin State
Coppin State was less than impressive in 2019-20 as they went 7-9 against conference opponents and held an 11-20 record overall. The Eagles finished seventh in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2008.
Coppin State will travel to Durham to take on the Blue Devils on November 28th at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Champions Classic
December 1st: vs. Michigan State
Duke will face off against Michigan State in the annual Champions Classic, which for the first time will be held in two separate venues as Duke will host the Spartans while Kentucky and Kansas will face off in Indianapolis.
Duke last played Michigan State in the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA Tournament where the Spartans knocked off a Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish led Duke team to advance to the Final Four.
Now, the two look much different as the Spartans no longer have Cassius Winston, among others, and the Blue Devils are obviously without Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Tre Jones, and others.
Michigan State finished the 2019-20 season with a 14-6 record against Big Ten opponents, and a 22-9 record overall. Michigan State will be led by Aaron Henry, Rocket Watts, Gabe Brown, and Malik Hall, as Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman have left East Lansing.
Mako Medical Duke Classic Honoring Dr. Onye E. Akwari
December 4th: vs. Bellarmine
December 6th: vs. Elon
In early December the Blue Devils will host the Mako Medical Duke Classic Honoring Dr. Onye E. Akwari, where they will host the Bellarmine Knights and the Elon Phoenix, while the Howard Bison will also be in attendance, but will not play the Blue Devils.
Bellarmine is a Division II team that won the Division II National Championship in 2011 while making the Final Four in 2012, 2015, and 2017 as well. The Knights went 20-8 in 2019-20 and actually played well against Louisville and Notre Dame in the pre-season, losing by only 10 to each team.
Elon is a team who finished the 2019-20 season with a 7-11 record against Colonial Athletic Association opponents, and a 13-21 record overall. Elon has never made the NCAA Tournament, but the Blue Devils played them a few seasons ago in the game where Grayson Allen tripped Steven Santa Ana and was later suspended for it.
ACC/Big Ten Challenge
December 8th: vs. Illinois
Illinois was a very surprising team in 2019-20 as they finished the season with a 13-7 record against conference opponents with a 21-10 record overall. The Illini were set to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013, but obviously, because of COVID-19, that was not the case.
With that, Illinois will look to continue their success from last season and will be headed to Cameron Indoor Stadium for the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
December 12th: vs. Charleston Southern
This game has not been confirmed by Duke yet but has been reported by multiple sources
Charleston Southern went 7-11 against Big South opponents last season with a 14-18 record overall. The Buccaneers will look to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997 this season.
These are the only confirmed games we have for the 2020-21 season, but I would expect a couple more to be announced before Duke’s first game against Gardner Webb on November 25th, with the ACC schedule also being made official.