No. 7 Duke (27-9, 15-5 ACC)
The Blue Devils have an overhauled roster after getting to the NCAA Elite Eight, bringing in 10 new players that includes Jon Scheyer’s latest top recruiting haul for his third season. They are the preseason favorite for the second straight year to win the ACC.
Players to watch
Cooper Flagg (freshman, F, 6-9, 205). Flagg was being discussed as a potential No. 1 overall NBA draft long before he picked Duke over UConn in a big recruiting battle. He enters this year as an Associated Press preseason All-American.
Tyrese Proctor (junior, G, 6-6, 183, 10.5 ppg). The Australian was expected by many to enter the NBA draft after last season, though he was hobbled by an ankle injury and never took a big sophomore leap. Still, he’s a playmaker with size and defensive potential.
Caleb Foster (sophomore, G, 6-5, 202, 7.7 ppg). Foster had some quality moments as a freshman, including shooting 40.7% from 3-point range. He missed Duke’s last nine games with an ankle injury.
Departures and arrivals
Top scorer and second-team AP All-American Kyle Filipowski (16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds per game) is gone to the NBA. Duke lost its top four scorers with freshman Jared McCain jumping to the NBA and guard Jeremy Roach (Baylor) and wing Mark Mitchell (Missouri) transferring.
Scheyer brought in the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class, with 7-foot-1 South Sudanese prospect Khaman Maluach joining Flagg, 6-6 forward Isaiah Evans and 6-5 forward Kon Knueppel as five-star headliners.
Duke also brought in multiple transfers in 6-6 graduate forward Mason Gillis — part of Purdue’s run to last year’s NCAA title game — Tulane graduate forward Sion James (6-6, 220) and Syracuse junior forward Maliq Brown (6-9, 222).
Top games
The Blue Devils open Nov. 4 at home against Maine and the opening month includes games against No. 23 Kentucky (Nov. 12), No. 10 Arizona (Nov. 22), No. 1 Kansas (Nov. 26) and No. 11 Auburn (Dec. 4). Duke opens ACC play at Louisville on Dec. 8, while there are home-and-away matchups with No. 9 North Carolina (Feb. 1, March 8) and Wake Forest (Jan. 25, March 3) as the projected top league contenders.
Facts and figures
Scheyer is 54-18 in his first two seasons with matching 27-9 records as the successor to retired Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, including an ACC Tournament title in 2023. … This is the 17th straight season that Duke is opening the season ranked in the top 10. … The Blue Devils have lost at least three games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in three of the last four seasons, which had happened just thrice in the 24 seasons before that. … The Blue Devils have 2,300 victories in program history, trailing only Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina on the all-time list.
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