As much of the sports world is, the Duke basketball team is at the mercy of the NFL.
The ACC announced on Monday morning that the Blue Devils game on Saturday, January 18 against Boston College will tipoff at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Both the conference and the television network had to wait until the NFL Playoff schedule for this weekend was revealed, which has placed the AFC Divisional Round matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The anticipated start time for Duke and Boston College was 4 p.m. ET before the football schedule was unveiled.
UPDATE: Our game at BC on Saturday is scheduled to tip at 8 PM ET.
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 13, 2025
📺 ESPN
Saturday evening will mark the first game of a two-game road trip for the Blue Devils as they head into a bye week before going back on the road to face Wake Forest on Saturday, January 25.
The Blue Devils, dating back to its game against Pittsburgh on January 7 -- a 29-point victory – had played three consecutive home games. It will have back-to-back home games after returning from Massachusetts when playing North Carolina State and North Carolina on January 27 and February 1, respectively.
The Eagles (9-7, 1-4 ACC) have struggled mightily this season with its lone conference win coming at home over the Miami Hurricanes after its head coach, Jim Larranaga, retired immediately.
It has lost two straight games entering its matchup against Notre Dame on the road Monday night.
Each team is headed in opposite directions with Duke (14-2, 6-0 ACC) being one of the best teams in the country and undefeated in ACC play, hosting the lowly Hurricanes (4-12, 0-5 ACC) on Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils are 29-3 in the all-time series against Boston College and have won nine straight games since its last loss during the 2017-18 season in Chestnut Hill.