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The Duke Blue Devils kick off their quest for a sixth National Championship on Monday night against Army.
On paper, Duke looked like arguably the best roster in the country throughout the offseason. Across three preseason games, it only cemented that claim further. Jon Scheyer's club took down Belmont by 40 points, No. 8 Tennessee by 39 points, and No. 17 Kansas 90-84 at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Blue Devils are undoubtedly one of the top contenders in the sport this season, but this team certainly has its differences from each of the last two years' Duke clubs, both of which earned 1-seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
It's a long season, but it begins tonight. Here's everything you need to know before the Blue Devils kick things off against Army.
Date: Monday, Nov. 2
Time: 6:30 pm ET
Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium (Durham, NC)
TV: ESPNU
Announcers: Dave O'Brien and Jay Bilas
The Blue Devils are 10-1 against Army all-time, and this is the third time in as many seasons Duke and Army have faced off. Duke hit the road to West Point last season, defeating the Black Knights 114-59. Army came to Cameron Indoor in 2024-25, when Duke won 100-58. Army has defeated the Blue Devils only once, in the 1937-38 season in West Point, a 40-20 victory for the Black Knights.
Above all, it will be interesting to see how quickly Duke can get into a rhythm, and whether that happens as quickly as it did in its first two preseason games. Against Belmont and Tennessee, the Blue Devils looked practically unbeatable, though Kansas provided a good test on the road before the regular season got underway.
I'd think Scheyer will go fairly deep down the bench to open up the year, and he can realistically go nine, 10, or 11 deep in big games this season if he wants to. The Blue Devils took strides offensively throughout their scrimmage and exhibition games, but that side of the floor tends to take a bit longer than the defensive end to run with fluidity on a consistent basis.
The defense should lead the charge for Duke, and given how elite it looked defensively in the preseason, it will be a good gauge to see how far ahead the Blue Devils are on that end at the start of the regular season.