Duke basketball: Mike Krzyzewski’s last non-conference schedule released

The final non-conference schedule in the Duke basketball career for Mike Krzyzewski has been announced. 

It’s the year of ‘lasts’ for the Duke basketball program, and head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the last non-conference schedule for the Hall of Famer has been announced.

As previously reported, Duke will have a loaded non-conference slate, headlined by matchups against Kentucky, Gonzaga, and Ohio State, while an anticipated matchup between the Blue Devils and Michigan State Spartans was pulled from the schedule.

None of the games against the three powerhouses on the schedule will be in the confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium, as two games will be played on neutral floors, and one will be a true road game.

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Things get tipped off for the Blue Devils on October 15 with Countdown to Craziness, and the rest of the schedule is as follows:

• October 30 – vs. Winston-Salem State [EXHIBITION] 
• November 9 – vs. Kentucky (Madison Square Garden) [State Farm Champions Classic]
• November 12 – vs. Army [Duke Veteran’s Day Weekend Showcase] 
• November 13 – vs. Campbell [Duke Veteran’s Day Weekend Showcase] 
• November 16 – vs. Gardner-Webb
• November 19 – vs. Lafayette
• November 22 – vs. The Citadel
• November 26 – vs. Gonzaga (T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas) [Continental Tire Showcase]
• November 30 – at. Ohio State [ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge]
• December 14 – vs. South Carolina State
• December 16 – vs. Appalachian State
• December 18 – vs. Cleveland State

The ACC schedule has not been released yet, but the opponents and locations where Duke will play in the 2021-22 season have been known and can be seen here.

Main takeaways from the Duke basketball non-conference schedule

Aside from the three games against Kentucky, Gonzaga, and Ohio State, the Duke non-conference schedule is pretty underwhelming, although Kentucky and Gonzaga are expected to be National Championship contenders.

Playing Army on Veteran’s Day weekend is a nice touch for the Blue Devils considering the history and relationship Mike Krzyzewski has with the military academy and its basketball program. However, it would have been really special to see the Blue Devils make the trip to West Point in his final year as a head coach.

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Start times and television networks have yet to be announced for all of Duke’s non-conference games. But expect many primetime starts on ESPN this season for the Blue Devils.

Duke will be looking to return to the NCAA Tournament this season after missing the Big Dance for the first time since 1994-95 last season.