The Duke basketball program added a shocking home-and-home series to its schedule.
Scheduling major opponents away from Cameron Indoor Stadium is not new to the Duke basketball program but Jon Scheyer has taken a massive step into making the Blue Devils his own program.
Duke, along with Arizona, announced on Monday afternoon that the two teams will play a home-and-home series beginning in the 2023-24 season.
BREAKING: Got a home-and-home lined up with @ArizonaMBB! Starts next season in Cameron! 💡🌵🔥💡 pic.twitter.com/2flfeShrSJ
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) July 18, 2022
The first game will take place in Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 10, 2023 while the return game at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Arizona will be on November 21, 2024.
Arizona most recently made the Sweet 16 under first year head coach Tommy Lloyd after an outstanding 33-4 season and is currently posting two Top-30 recruiting classes in 2022 and 2023.
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The Blue Devils, which constantly turn over its roster each season, are coming off a Final Four appearance in the final season of legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski as Scheyer takes over the head coaching duties entering the 2022-23 season.
Duke currently has the top ranked recruiting classes in 2022 and 2023.
Duke basketball has long history with Arizona Wildcats
The two programs have met nine times in the past as the Wildcats hold a 5-4 edge in the series with the most recent game coming in the 2013 season as Arizona defeated Duke in Madison Square Garden.
Eight of the nine matchups have come when both teams are ranked in the Top-25 of the Associated Press Poll as the only matchup when both programs were not in the Top-25 was in 1961 when Duke defeated Arizona by 31 points.
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The Blue Devils have been ranked as a Top-10 each time they competed against Arizona, but the Wildcats are riding a two-game winning streak against Duke.
However, the most meaningful matchup between the teams was in the 2001 National Championship Game, a 10-point victory for Duke which gave the program its third National Championship.
The home-and-home series is not only great for the sport of college basketball but it proves, once again, that Jon Scheyer is bringing in a new era of Duke basketball.