Duke Basketball to Face Major Test(s) Over Next Few Weeks

The Duke Blue Devils' basketball program has opened up the 2026-27 college basketball season with a 2-0 record, beating Army and then Coastal Carolina last week. The early games helped Duke get "warmed up" for what's ahead, and it allowed Jon Scheyer and his staff to get an early look at his team. 

While these games should be won by Duke, they have the chance to see what rotations they can use and prepare for what will be a very tough non-conference schedule. That begins on Tuesday night when the Blue Devils' face off against No. 5 Michigan State in the Champion's Classic in Chicago.

The annual event features not only Duke and Michigan State but also Kentucky and Kansas, showcasing some Blue Blood talent. 

For Duke, we knew that going into this season, their non-conference slate would be VERY tough. With the Blue Devils ranked No. 2, they are going to be a tough matchup for a lot of teams. But now that the first week is in the books, there's an interesting note about this non-conference schedule.

Starting with No. 5 Michigan State, Duke will play the current Top 5 teams all over the next six games. 

Here's how the schedule breaks down using the latest Associated Press rankings:

That's a pretty tough stretch. 

After the game against the Spartans, Duke returns home to host SIU Edwardsville on Friday night. They will also play Washington State on November 21st in Palm Desert, to wrap up the six-game set. Having those two games in between could be valuable for the Blue Devils, allowing them to potentially reset if they were to drop a game or two. 

While it's tough, this is going to be something that tests Duke's team. And that's what Scheyer wants.

After last Thursday's win over Coastal Carolina, Scheyer met the media and was quoted as saying "We want to be tested in different ways" when talking about the challenges Michigan State will present them. That will certainly help the Blue Devils in the long run too as they get into conference play and then into the postseason with the NCAA Tournament. 

Let's see if Duke can pass all of these upcoming tests.