Five ACC foes who could cause Duke basketball problems next season

In addition to six games combined against Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia, and N.C. State, there remains one daunting foe to the northwest of Durham in Blacksburg, Va. At some point, this young but uber-talented group of Blue Devils will have to travel to Cassell Coliseum.

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The Duke basketball program has just one win in the last four games against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The worst of the three losses was an 89-75 upset of an unranked Tech squad over a fifth-ranked Blue Devils team in December 2016.

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As for Virginia Tech’s 2020-21 outlook, it will be the second season under head coach Mike Young. The Hokies look to have a balanced roster, likely to be led by two guards: sophomore Tyrece Radford, who started 29 games as a freshman and averaged 10.2 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 60.4 percent from the field, and senior Wabissa Bede, who started every game at the point last season and averaged 5.5 assists to only 1.7 turnovers.

If Mike Krzyzewski and his young Duke basketball squad can successfully navigate these troubled conference waters, there is no reason to believe they couldn’t capture their first outright regular-season crown since 2005-06. Should history repeat itself too often, however, the Blue Devils may fall victim to several conference opponents next season.

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