The Duke basketball program will potentially go through the toughest non-conference slate in all of college hoops next season, but that's only part of the resume. The Blue Devils are also looking to defend their ACC regular season and tournament championships in 2025-26, but were given a much tougher draw to do so upon the release of each team's conference opponents than rival in-state program North Carolina State, which could be one of the ACC's best teams.
Will Wade reeled in a solid transfer class, and the Wolfpack are looking to be one of the top squads in the conference next season. Wade has also spent no time heating the Triangle rivalry with his words towards UNC head coach Hubert Davis.
However, Duke was given a much tougher path in regards to its conference opponents than NC State, which could pay dividends at the end of next season if the Blue Devils and Wolfpack are within a game of each other fighting for the ACC crown.
Each ACC team will play two programs twice, home and away, after the conference announced it was switching from a 20-game schedule to an 18-game schedule. Duke will have to face North Carolina and Louisville twice, arguably two of the top three teams in the ACC. Whereas for NC State, Wade and the Wolfpack will face Wake Forest and Virginia twice. The Cavaliers have a chance to make some noise in the ACC, but it's certainly an easier two-game opponent list than Duke.
On top of that, NC State will not have to travel to Cameron Indoor or The Dean Dome. The Wolfpack will face both Duke and UNC, but will host both programs. Wade and his team will have to play on the road at Louisville, but that's a pretty big break, getting out of going to likely the two toughest places to play in all of the ACC.
Duke will have to travel to both UNC and Louisville, as those are the program's two-game opponents.
Now, it's unclear how much better the ACC as a whole will be in 2025-26 as opposed to last season, but with just how mediocre it was a season ago, it won't take much to better it. However, these minor adjustments to the schedule could prove to be a significant factor down the stretch if Duke and NC State remain two of the top three teams in the ACC and are competing for seeding in the conference tournament or battling for a regular season crown.