Duke Blue Devils Earn Praise From Legendary Head Coach

The Duke Blue Devils are off to a 2-0 start in the 2026-27 college basketball season after beating Army and Coastal Carolina last week. But now the test gets tougher for the Blue Devils. 

We know that Duke's non-conference schedule is very tough this season, including some big matchups. Their first big test, though, comes Tuesday night in Chicago as they face off against Michigan State in the Champions Classic. 

The annual event pits historic programs together for early season showdowns as the double-header hits the United Center. Duke and Michigan State will meet this season as will Kentucky and Kansas, giving it a true blue blood feel. It's also good for the fans to see these early-season match ups between the ranked teams. 

For Duke, they are No. 2 in the polls behind only Florida but Michigan State is right behind them at No. 5. It's an early Top 5 showdown that will draw a lot of ratings for ESPN. 

As we get set for tipoff on Tuesday night, Spartans' head coach Tom Izzo had nothing but praise for this Duke team. He even went as far as to call them "one of the best Duke teams in years." 

Izzo was very serious in his answer, respecting what head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff have built this year. It's been said before that this team may not have a Cooper Flagg or a Cameron Boozer, back-to-back player-of-the-year winners, but top to bottom the roster is loaded with depth at every position. Scheyer and the staff used a mix of the top recruiting class, a good transfer portal class and key returners from last season's team to build his roster. 

They have experience, they have youth, and they are very talented on both ends of the court. That's usually a recipe for success in terms of going far in March and trying to cut down the nets in April.

While Duke has looked impressive early on, it was against two teams they really should beat anyway. Now, they get a look at a good Michigan State team in the heart of Big Ten country and a really good head coach in Izzo. Duke has had a lot of success in this champions classic event in the past and the fans travel well for the Blue Devils, too. 

It should be a fun one tonight in Chicago and we should learn a lot about this Blue Devils' team.