Duke Basketball: Do Blue Devils Have the ACC's Toughest Nonconference Schedule?
Duke isn't likely to be anywhere near the bubble this March, but it still has to assemble a strong nonconference schedule if it intends to earn its accustomed high seed.
The Blue Devils have done just that, but their ACC brethren won't exactly be mowing down weaklings during November and December, either.
Or will they?
Read on for a comparison of Duke's non-league opponents with the rest of the ACC. Does Duke have the toughest path before ACC play even begins?
Nos. 11-15
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New coach Buzz Williams had some player attrition, and there's always a feeling-out period under a new coach. So, Williams and the Hokies' athletic department decided to ease the team in with one of the softest non-league schedules in the nation.
Best Game: Either Northern Iowa in Cancun or at West Virginia, depending on how you like the Mountaineers this season. The major question is, does Buzz dare dance to "Country Roads" again if the Hokies pull the upset?
The Irish drew Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but at least the Spartans come to South Bend. Games against UMass and Providence at the Hall of Fame Tipoff would have been much tougher last season, before the Chaz Williams and Bryce Cotton departures. Beyond that, though, the schedule is largely populated by bottom-feeders such as Binghamton, Navy and Fairleigh Dickinson.
Best Game: Michigan State, by far. Both teams have star quality in the backcourt—Jerian Grant for the Irish and Denzel Valentine for MSU. Do the Irish have an answer for Branden Dawson, though?
BC has the same Providence-UMass double that Notre Dame has, but it scheduled the Friars at home and the Minutemen at TD Garden, outside of a tournament setting. In Puerto Rico, the Eagles will take on a New Mexico team retooling after the loss of elite post duo Cameron Bairstow and Alex Kirk.
Otherwise, new coach Jim Christian took a page from Buzz's book, scheduling New Hampshire, Maine, Binghamton and UMass-Lowell.
Best Game: Unless BC manages to find a date with UConn at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, its Jan. 14 meeting with Harvard will be by far its toughest game.
The Tigers battle three SEC opponents in 12 days, drawing Arkansas and Auburn to Littlejohn Coliseum and taking a road trip to archrival South Carolina. All three could be very interesting matchups, depending on how quickly Bruce Pearl's Auburn newcomers jell together. A fourth could loom if Clemson collides with LSU at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.
Best Game: Arkansas is the only team on this schedule with legitimate NCAA tournament expectations, unless you really like Auburn to rise quickly. Clemson big man Landry Nnoko will have his hands full with the Hogs' sophomore star, Bobby Portis. Outside of the SEC three, however, the Tigers' next best game is likely against Robert Morris or High Point—weak sauce for an ACC team.
The names aren't sexy to Joe Casual Fan, but at least the Panthers have scheduled teams with conference-champion potential in Manhattan and Florida Gulf Coast. Meetings with San Diego State, Kansas State or Arizona could loom in Maui, and the ACC/Big Ten Challenge sends Pitt to Indiana to face the Hoosiers. Niagara and Samford look like the only truly ugly games.
Best Game: Probably the trip to Indiana. In a season that isn't expected to end with the Hoosiers in the Big Dance, however, that's not saying a whole lot. With Cincinnati transfer Jermaine Lawrence immediately eligible, Manhattan could be almost as dangerous as IU.
Nos. 6-10
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It took this long for us to find a team willing to travel across state lines for a true road game against a 2014 NCAA tournament team. The Yellow Jackets travel to Dayton just before Christmas. Georgia and Vanderbilt both come to Atlanta, and Tech will start off the Orlando Classic against a rebuilding Marquette club. GT's only other true road game is at Northwestern.
Best Game: Easily the trip to Dayton. The Flyers should still be an Atlantic 10 contender, despite the loss of starters such as Devin Oliver, Khari Price and Matt Kavanaugh. Michigan State, Tennessee, Kansas and Rhode Island are also in Orlando, but does Tech really want to see any of them?
The Wolfpack's schedule would be pretty solid—in 2013.
Richmond, Boise State, Tennessee, Louisiana Tech and Cincinnati all come to Raleigh, but it's a Vols team without Jordan McRae or Jarnell Stokes and a Bearcat team missing Sean Kilpatrick and Justin Jackson. The Pack also draw a very winnable ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Purdue and a date with West Virginia at Madison Square Garden.
Best Game: Louisiana Tech comes to visit two days before Christmas. The Bulldogs still have plenty of tools to play their up-tempo offense and high-pressure defense.
The Seminoles join Notre Dame at Mohegan Sun Resort in Connecticut for the Hall of Fame Tipoff, so they'll also be playing Providence and UMass. Manhattan provides a dangerous opener, and Nebraska will likewise pose a threat in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Noles do have a heaping helping of cake, however, with the likes of The Citadel, Stetson and North Florida on the slate.
Best Game: FSU's Dec. 30 meeting with Florida, however, is anything but cake. The Gators are a new-look team with a bunch of seniors gone, but they've traded that experience for an absurd amount of talent. The Noles' trio of 7-footers will have its hands full with Chris Walker.
It seems new coach Danny Manning fears no arena. He's taking his Demon Deacons on true road trips to Tulane, Richmond and Arkansas' always hostile Bud Walton Arena. 2014 NIT champion/2015 NCAA hopeful Minnesota comes to Winston-Salem, as does high-octane Iona. Oh, and there's a neutral-site battle with Florida.
Nicholls State, Delaware State and Samford may be the slate's only true weaklings.
Best Game: Wake doesn't have FSU's size and is nowhere close to Florida's talent, so the matchup with the Gators is big, but it likely won't be a good game. The trip to Arkansas is slightly more winnable, but it's still tremendously difficult for the Deacs.
The new-look Hurricanes get the earliest look at those new-look Gators, but they take a trip to Gainesville to do so. Home games against Illinois and Green Bay, along with a trip to Brooklyn to face Providence, will all look better in March than they do now. The Charleston Classic is winnable, but that's mainly because Drexel, USC and Penn State are the toughest draws in that event.
Best Game: The Canes' talent level is largely underrated, and an early game against Florida is a perfect barometer for just how good The U can be this season. Experienced point guard Angel Rodriguez against UF's dynamic Kasey Hill will be a tremendous matchup.
5. Duke
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Duke is fully exploiting its elite-program privilege to skip any and all true road games that aren't contractually mandated by television.
The one that is mandated for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, however, is a doozy. Duke's trip to Madison, Wisconsin, to face the Badgers will be one of the biggest nonconference games of the entire season, not only for the Blue Devils and Badgers but also in all of college basketball. Come for Jahlil Okafor vs. Frank Kaminsky, stay for Justise Winslow vs. Sam Dekker.
Duke's neutral-site games—vs. Michigan State in Indianapolis, UConn in New Jersey, Temple in Brooklyn and either Stanford or UNLV in that same Brooklyn event—are stronger than most teams' entire schedules. Temple is the only team not widely expected to reach the NCAA tournament, but the Owls should be substantially improved from last season.
The others are all eminently winnable, as Michigan State isn't as experienced as normal, UConn has to prove it can win without Shabazz Napier and UNLV will be largely propelled by freshmen and transfers. Stanford may be the toughest of the bunch, even though it's missing solid post pair Dwight Powell and Josh Huestis. Freshman Reid Travis will be a key as he tries to replace their production on the glass.
The home games, however, are largely dreadful.
While Toledo is a deceptive game against an experienced MAC favorite, the Cameron Crazies will be wasting their energy getting amped over battles with Presbyterian, Fairfield, Furman and Elon.
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4. Louisville
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Louisville put together everything you like to see in a nonconference schedule: home games against strong competition, interesting neutral-site matchups and even a true road game. We'll take those in order.
The KFC Yum! Center will be visited by a revamped Ohio State team for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Buckeyes will still play tough defense as long as Shannon Scott and Sam Thompson remain in the lineup.
However, the offensively challenged Aaron Craft and inconsistent Lenzelle Smith and LaQuinton Ross have given way to potential scoring studs such as D'Angelo Russell and Keita Bates-Diop. While OSU's freshmen have something to prove, Louisville likewise has a host of rookies who will see time themselves.
Kentucky's Dec. 27 visit is the unquestioned main event, with Big Blue Nation highly reluctant to start talking 40-0 again, but you know they're thinking it. The Cards' small guards aren't rid of the Harrison twins, Aaron and Andrew, yet, and how U of L's offense operates against the twins' length will be key to keeping the game close.
The Pitino Bowl opens the season, as papa Rick's Cardinals face son Richard's Minnesota team in Puerto Rico. The Gophers have plenty of bulk and a veteran backcourt, so one big game from a wing scorer (Carlos Morris perhaps) could be the factor that puts UM over the top.
The Cards take on Indiana at Madison Square Garden, a game which could be interesting if the IU backcourt can find a collective groove. An odd road game at Western Kentucky could be a trap, as a highly motivated Hilltopper squad will be eager to set the tone for its move to Conference USA.
Jacksonville State, Savannah State and UNC-Wilmington—now coached by ex-Louisville assistant Kevin Keatts—are the dregs of the Cards' slate.
3. Syracuse
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Without doubt, Syracuse has the toughest pair of true road games in the ACC this season.
First, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge pits the Orange against a young, talented Michigan team in Ann Arbor. Syracuse has the bulk to push the Wolverines around, but can it outscore a team led by Caris LeVert, Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin?
Just before Christmas, the Orange play the return match of last year's win over Villanova. The Wildcats return everyone of importance, save James Bell, while Syracuse's new cast of characters should be largely settled into their roles by Dec. 20. The former Big East rivals may play another drag-out brawl of a game.
The NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden leads off with a solid matchup against Cal, but the Orange will follow up with a battle against a preseason Top 25 side from Texas or Iowa.
St. John's and Louisiana Tech also come to the Carrier Dome, and neither should be overlooked. Freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph will have his hands full with Speedy Smith, the rest of Tech's athletes and the high-pressure defense the Bulldogs play.
St. John's still has solid depth, but the Red Storm's supply of dangerous scorers is dwindling. Aside from D'Angelo Harrison, who will get points against the Syracuse zone?
Those two home battles will almost excuse the welcoming of patsies like Kennesaw State, Loyola (Md.), Colgate and Cornell.
2. Virginia
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It's easy to underrate the Virginia schedule, but coach Tony Bennett isn't interested in having his team stroll into ACC play bloated off a dozen cream-filled pastries.
Three Atlantic 10 foes dot the schedule, none more daunting than the new in-state archrival, VCU. The Rams knocked off UVa last season, and they're still equipped to do it again, despite the loss of shooter Rob Brandenberg and banger Juvonte Reddic. Wing Treveon Graham led all scorers in last year's matchup in Charlottesville, and he gets home-court advantage this season.
Virginia is also lining up against a George Washington team that will be anxious for a signature win to bolster a second straight NCAA tournament bid. Davidson is the Cavaliers' final non-league opponent, and it's dangerous as long as Bob McKillop is drawing a paycheck. The Wildcats return a solid backcourt, but they will miss former CAA Player of the Year De'Mon Brooks in their new league.
Harvard awaits just before Christmas, and that Crimson frontcourt still has plenty of size to exploit Virginia if it hasn't adequately filled the enormous hole left by the departed Akil Mitchell. Maryland switches sides in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and draws Virginia for its opponent. Expect Virginia guards London Perrantes and Malcolm Brogdon to test Terrapin freshman Melo Trimble early and often.
La Salle, Rutgers and Vanderbilt may not pose much of a threat at the Barclays Center Classic in Brooklyn. Vandy has a couple of good freshman shooters coming in, and La Salle has the senior post duo of Jerrell Wright and Steve Zack. Neither, though, can match Virginia's talent top to bottom.
Sure, there are some sure wins built in against South Carolina State, Norfolk State and Tennessee State. Admirably, the Cavs even open the season with a true road game, albeit at James Madison. The Dukes return double-figure scorers Andre Nation and Ron Curry, but wing Charles Cooke—now gone to Dayton—would have come in handy.
1. North Carolina
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North Carolina coach Roy Williams feels like he has a Final Four-caliber team this season, and he aims to prove it in the nonconference schedule.
After tuning up with decent mid-majors in NC Central and Robert Morris, the Tar Heels take on Davidson in Charlotte. Those games should have UNC warmed up nicely for the always loaded Battle 4 Atlantis.
After the first-round bout against Butler, the Heels have an 83 percent chance of facing a team that could make the Top 25 at some point. Oklahoma, UCLA, Florida, Georgetown and Wisconsin are all virtual locks to appear in the NCAA tournament.
Three more dangerous opponents await after UNC gets back from Atlantis. Iowa visits Chapel Hill for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and it will need to muck the game up if it can't find some scoring to replace the graduated Devyn Marble.
A trip to Rupp Arena to face Kentucky will generate a solid week of hype, especially if both come in unbeaten. That's eminently possible, even though both will have serious tests before Dec. 13. The Heels have a stable of big men to combat Kentucky's size, but Kennedy Meeks is the only one anywhere close to the talent level of UK's horses.
One week after Kentucky, the Heels go to Chicago to take on Ohio State at the CBS Sports Classic. Who's the primary ball-handler for UNC against the always tenacious Shannon Scott?
UNC Greensboro is the only opponent that can even legitimately be considered a dog, as the likes of UAB and William & Mary aren't to be taken lightly, either.
Ol' Roy wants his team sharp for ACC play, and the Tar Heels will certainly be that if they survive this slate with one loss—or even none.
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