Duke Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Blue Devils

Season Outlook

Duke enters the season as the ninth-ranked team in the nation, and the top-ranked team in the ACC, which means the Blue Devils are expected to compete, not only for ACC Regular Season, and Tournament Titles, but also for a National Championship Title as well.

Duke has a very impressive roster that includes the likes of Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams, Jeremy Roach, Wendell Moore, and others, which will really give Duke the opportunity to have an impressive season in Coach K’s final year at the helm.

We will really see what the Blue Devils are capable of early on as they have three non-conference games against ranked opponents. Only one of those three ranked opponents is ranked above Duke, with Gonzaga being the top-ranked team in the nation.

If Duke is able to win two of these three games, and at least keep the other game close, then the Blue Devils will surely have an opportunity to be a dominant team this season. The problem for Duke in their season opener against Kentucky is they’ll be without star-freshman AJ Griffin, who is expected to play a major role for Duke once he returns.

The Blue Devils should be more than capable of entering ACC play with at most two losses, and if that’s the case, there should be no reason Duke enters the ACC Tournament with more than six or seven losses overall. There are only four ranked teams in the ACC this season, and Duke is the highest-ranked team in the conference, with North Carolina being the second highest-ranked team as they come in at 19.

Obviously, a lot can change between now and the beginning of ACC play, but this is without a doubt a down year for the ACC, and Duke should be more than capable of taking advantage of that. The Blue Devils need to be on their A-Game every single time they step on the court, and if they do that, they should be able to take advantage of their not-so-difficult schedule.

Duke has a total of nine games against ranked opponents, with only one of those games being against a team ranked higher than them. That being said, Duke should be a force this season, and they’ll be on a mission to make Coach K’s final season a special one.