This year's Duke basketball team looks good. Like, really good.

The Blue Devils continue to solidify preseason expectations, improving to 2-0 after defeating Coastal Carolina 113-52 on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. We've learned a good amount about this team through its early-season action, and given that we're still in early November, Duke is undoubtedly a premier contender.

Jon Scheyer's club will have a chance to really make a statement in its next game against No. 6 Michigan State in the Champions Classic, but Duke has already shown what its ceiling can be this season.

Let's go over a few key areas that helped or hurt the Blue Devils against the Chanticleers.

Defense: A+

There's just not much more you could ask for from the Blue Devils on the defensive end. They look like the best defensive team in the sport and one that is going to give every team it faces nightmares.

Duke never gave Coastal Carolina a chance to make this game competitive. It got out to a 14-0 lead and entered the halftime break up 54-18. On the night, the Chanticleers shot 30% from the field and 4-of-22 (18%) from the three-point line. The Blue Devils outrebounded CCU 53-27, won the paint battle 52-26, notched 27 fast-break points, 12 steals, and nine blocks, and turned 17 Chanticleers turnovers into 27 points.

The Blue Devils are operating at an extremely high level on that end of the floor, and its length remains an overwhelming strength.

Share the Love: A

Everyone knows this Duke team is incredibly deep, but it showed against CCU that it isn't just a big group of talent; it's a big group of talent that is learning how to work on the floor together to impact winning at the highest level.

13 guys played on Thursday night. 10 tallied a field goal, and seven knocked down a three-pointer. Duke assisted on 25 of its 38 made shots and had a different team leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.

The Blue Devils are already getting contributions everywhere. Give this squad a few more months to really gel, and a deep NCAA Tournament run looks to be in store.

Interesting note from Duke's win tonight over Coastal Carolina:

Blue Devils had a different leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.

— Hugh Straine (@HughStraine) November 6, 2026

Outside Shooting: A

Duke showed it can be a vastly improved outside shooting team from what it was a season ago, but it was lackluster from the three-point line against Army, only knocking down four of its 22 attempts from long range. The Blue Devils went 11-of-22 (50%) from the perimeter against Coastal Carolina, and seven different guys sunk one.

If the Blue Devils can be a dangerous outside shooting team, game-planning for them defensively will be one heck of a challenge with the bodies they can throw in the paint. Duke has tallied 102 paint points in its first two games.

Turnovers: C-

This was really the only area that wasn't a glaring positive for Duke. It turned the ball over 15 times after turning it over 13 times against Army on Monday. The Blue Devils cleaned them up big-time in the second half, but several of them were definitely unforced. This early in the season, turnovers should be taken with a grain of salt, especially when it's the only negative.