The 2026-27 college basketball season has arrived, and with it comes Jon Scheyer's fifth season as the head man at Duke. The Blue Devils are still chasing that ever-elusive national title, which the program hasn't won since 2015.
Scheyer appears to have put together a roster more than capable of being the last team standing in March Madness. The Blue Devils capped an outstanding three-game exhibition slate with a thrilling win over Kansas in Lawrence last Sunday.
The games count starting tonight.
If you missed the exhibitions or have been living under a rock, this Duke roster has a different look than last season. There's no Cameron Boozer or Cooper Flagg this year who will be a singular dominant force, but this might be the deepest team Scheyer has had in Durham.
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje has the chance to have a Boozer/Flagg impact down the line, but the 17-year-old freshman is going to need some time early to figure out the college game.
Duke returns impactful players like Patrick Ngongba II, Dame Sarr, Caleb Foster, and Cayden Boozer from last season's team and added Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell out of the portal, who projects to be the team's leading scorer.
Duke has a pair of tune-up games to open the season against Army and then Coastal Carolina before heading to Chicago to take on Michigan State next Tuesday in the season's first real test.
Betting odds for Duke vs. Army in regular-season opener
Odds courtesy of FanDuel as of 9am ET on Monday.
Spread: Duke -44.5
Over/Under: 154.5
Moneyline: Duke -100000/Army +8000
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Final Prediction:
The spread accurately reflects the reality of this game. The difference in talent between these two teams is a chasm. Scheyer will preach to his team to respect the opponent, but this should be a game in which the youngsters get a whole lot of valuable experience because it should be over rather quickly.
Army ranks No. 338 in KenPom's preseason rankings. Kevin Kuwick is in his fourth season as the head coach for the Black Knights and is looking to bounce back after a difficult 11-21 campaign from a year ago.
Army is led by senior guard Ryan Curry, who averaged 13.3 points per game last season to lead the Black Knights. He's going to find life difficult against Duke's swarming perimeter defense that will throw all sorts of length at the 6-foot-1 guard.
I expect Duke to take a business-like approach to the opener and roll to an easy victory:
Pick: Duke 106, Army 52
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