Auburn vs Duke: 2024-25 College basketball game preview, TV schedule

A major showdown pits Duke against Auburn in the SEC/ACC Challenge featuring a pair of Top 10 teams; do the Blue Devils defend their homecourt or will the Tigers’ hot start continue?

TV schedule: Wednesday, December 4, 9:15 pm ET. ESPN

Arena: Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina

An argument can easily be made that Auburn (7-0) is the best team in the nation after one month of play. The Tigers scored an incredible win at Houston in the first week of the season and are back on the mainland after winning the Maui Invitational, picking up three more sensational victories. This Auburn squad is talented, productive, and looking for even more notoriety.

The magical man at the root of Auburn’s success is senior forward Johni Broome (20.7 ppg, 12.9 rpg). One of the nation’s best rebounders and offensive weapons, you could easily pencil Broome near the very top of a myriad awards based on his November. Five other Tigers are contributing at a high level, including Chad Baker-Mazara (12.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg), a multi-transfer guard who’s producing in his second year at Auburn. Freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford (9.6 ppg, 2.7 apg) is also starting to become quite a weapon for a team full of senior talent.

The Tigers rose to #2 in the AP Top 25 after their success in Maui. They’re 1st in KenPom while leading the nation in offensive efficiency, while they stand 2nd in the initial NET rankings as well. There’s a lot to love about what this team has produced in the opening weeks of the season. Broome has been sensational and the offense as a whole gets the job done around the basket. The defense doesn’t jump off the page, but they’ve shown up in a major way in some of these wins.

The first few weeks of the season have not been perfect for Duke (5-2), though the Blue Devils are clearly starting down a major opportunity. This team did lose to Kansas and Kentucky in close matchups and won at Arizona by double-digits just two weeks ago. This young, feisty team is playing the big dogs early and having success, but will that trend lead to actual results?

The face of the Blue Devils, as well as the likely top pick in next year’s NBA Draft, is Cooper Flagg (15.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg), the talented young forward with incredible ability on and off the ball. Fellow freshman Kon Knueppel (13.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.3 apg) has become a major piece early on, highlighting a powerful recruiting class that Jon Scheyer has once again landed in Durham. Junior guard Tyrese Proctor (12.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg) runs the offense and is a rare veteran playmaker for this team.

Duke is #9 in the AP Top 25, falling slightly after last week’s loss to Kansas, but the analytics still see this team in a high light. The Blue Devils are 4th in KenPom, leading the nation in defensive efficiency, while also checking in at 4th in the first batch of NET rankings. They nearly toppled Kentucky despite horrendous long-range shooting and the defense completely shut down Arizona, letting those Wildcats score just 55 points in a loss.

If a team is going to stop Auburn at this point, it might have to be a talented, young frontcourt like this. The matchup between Broome and Flagg itself might be worth the price of admission, and it’ll be interesting to see how the raw, talented rookie fares against the 5th year senior with immense experience. One benefit for the Tigers in general is that experience in their lineup while Duke gives heavy playing time to underclassmen.

Duke’s defense needs to limit Auburn’s interior offense to win this game. Playing in front of a raucous homecourt clearly gives them something of an advantage, but it’s not like it’s the Tigers’ first battle on foreign ground. When they beat North Carolina in Maui, it was the first time Auburn leaned on their defense when Broome and the forwards weren’t efficient. That same effort might be needed against an elite Blue Devils defense, and we’re giving a slight edge to the home crowd against the talented veterans, though anything could happen.

Prediction: Duke 80, Auburn 78