Potential big time non-conference games Duke basketball should schedule

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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 04: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats looks on in the first half against the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Fiserv Forum on January 04, 2020, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Duke vs. Villanova (Madison Square Garden)

You want to see a sellout in less than 30 minutes?

You want to see a nationally televised game that would be one of the most-watched games all season?

You want to see two teams that will arguably be ranked in the Top-10, perhaps better, in December?

Then you schedule the Duke Blue Devils against the Villanova Wildcats.

Villanova head coach Jay Wright has won two National Championships (2016 and 2018) and has the Wildcats in prime position for a run at another title in 2021.

The kings of the Big East have carved out a home at Madison Square Garden, much like the Blue Devils, through regular season games against St. John’s followed by their dominance in the conference tournament every season.

The projected No. 1 team in many Way-Too-Early Top-25 Polls would be up for the challenge of facing Duke, a matchup college basketball has not seen since the 2009 NCAA Tournament, where the Wildcats ran Duke out of the TD Garden in Boston, winning 77-54.

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Duke and Villanova have met ten times in history, with the Blue Devils holding a 7-3 advantage over the Wildcats.

The 2009 matchup was the just the second game between the two teams since 2000 as Duke has won five of the last six games.

Duke and Villanova at Madison Square Garden would be one of the hottest tickets in New York all season long, and that includes any New York Knick games.

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