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Duke Basketball: 2022-23 season review after loss to Tennessee, offseason storylines

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 16, 2023; Orlando, FL, USA; The Duke Blue Devils bench reacts during the second half against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2023; Orlando, FL, USA; The Duke Blue Devils bench reacts during the second half against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Duke Basketball forward Dariq Whitehead Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Duke Basketball forward Dariq Whitehead Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports /

2022-23 season review for Duke Basketball

High points

Without making it to the second weekend, the Blue Devils did get both an ACC Tournament title, mostly in convincing fashion. They did it against the two best teams in the conference (Miami and Virginia), along with the biggest surprise this season in Pittsburgh.

The most important feat for the team has to be the regular-season sweep over North Carolina, especially considering what happened the year prior. And with the Tar Heels being one of the first four out of the NCAA Tournament, that regular-season finale victory by Duke was what sent them to the NIT (before they declined the invite).

Low points

From a results standpoint, there weren’t too many bad things that happened to the Blue Devils. For the most part, they beat the teams they were supposed to and lost to the top ones. In the ACC, they did have a pair of 20+ point blowout losses to NC State and Miami, although the Hurricane defeat was 48 hours after an emotional victory against rival North Carolina.

The big problem for Duke has been the constant injuries this season. Both Lively and Whitehead were hurt before the year starter, while Jeremy Roach and Mitchell were injured and missed games. The lack of continuity affected the team and limited its overall ceiling.

Grade for Jon Scheyer’s first season – B+

When you have a top-10 roster and multiple future NBA players, the expectations are going to be there. And not making the Sweet 16 and being unranked for most of the season isn’t something the fans are used to. But it was also clear early on that this team wasn’t a clear-cut Final Four contender and too young overall to make some real noise.

Overall, winning an ACC title and beating rival North Carolina twice is good enough of a first impression for Scheyer to believe that he’s the right man for the job. The question is how long will it take for him to have the program in national title contention?

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