Duke Basketball: Previewing 2021-22 ACC schedule after non-conference play

Duke Basketball has gotten through their non-conference schedule with a record of 10-1, while getting an impressive win over the top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in Las Vegas as well. Now, the Blue Devils will turn their focus to the ACC, as they will play their first conference game, on Wednesday night.

This year is different when it comes to ACC basketball though, the conference that is typically the best in all of college basketball, has only one ranked team, and it’s the Duke Blue Devils. What that means is that Duke doesn’t have any more games against teams who are currently ranked.

In fact, the ACC minus Duke has a combined record of 87-51 against non-conference opponents, not exactly great when you’re talking about a conference that is typically known for being one of the best, if not the best conference in college basketball.

So what does this mean for Duke? Well, what this means is they’re going to need to handle their business night in, and night out, because if they don’t they’ll be taking a loss to a team who likely won’t make the NCAA Tournament, which could heavily impact Duke’s seed in the NCAA Tournament.

If the season were to end today, Duke would be a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and if they want to hold onto that, they need to handle their business over the next three months. So with that being said, let’s take a look at Duke’s conference schedule and also predict how they might fare, against their ACC opponents.