Duke basketball gets highly anticipated rematch in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

The Duke basketball team will get a major rematch in the ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge. 

It was the first true road game of the season for the Duke basketball team, ranked No. 1 in the country.

The Blue Devils were coming off a monster victory against then No. 1 Gonzaga in Las Vegas and had little time to celebrate its victory as a room game loomed in Columbus against the dangerous, but unranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

Duke led by as many as 15 points in the game and went into the halftime locker room with a 13 point lead, 43-30.

Then, a switch was flipped in the locker room.

Mike Krzyzewski’s team looked tired and a step slow while Ohio State, behind its sold out crowd, was turning up the pressure on the Blue Devils.

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The Buckeyes outscored Duke 41-23 in the second half to complete the comeback and win, 71-66.

It was the first loss of the season for the young Blue Devils as Wendell Moore, who was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 26 overall Thursday night, led the team with 17 points the defeat.

Jeremy Roach, Duke’s lone returning key contributor, had nine points.

Zed Key, who will still be with Ohio State in 2022-23, led all scorers with 20 points.

However, Duke will get a rematch with Ohio State in Durham this upcoming season as ESPN has announced the matchups for the annual ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge.

The matchup is set for Wednesday, November 30 but no time has been announced for the game.

Duke basketball schedule filling up quickly

Duke will battle Ohio State on the heels of another grueling stretch as the program will play three games in four days in Portland, Oregon in the Phil Knight Invitational on November 24, 25, and 27.

The games have not been announced for the Blue Devils but the three matchups will come against Florida, Gonzaga, Oregon State, Purdue, West Virginia, Xavier, or Portland State.

Jon Scheyer will open his head coaching career against Jacksonville on November 7 and, according to The D1 Docket, will host USC Upstate on November 11.

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Duke will also play defending champion Kansas in the Champions Classic on November 15 and host Bellarmine on November 21.

Scheyer and the Blue Devils will travel to New York to play Iowa in the Jimmy V Classic on December 6 as there are still two openings left in the team’s non-conference schedule.

Both game will be ‘buy games’ inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.