The Duke basketball program will already go through absolute mayhem through its 2025-26 non-conference schedule, but the toughest game yet might've just been added upon the release of the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge. The Blue Devils will face off against the reigning national champion Florida Gators on December 2nd at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
After head coach Jon Scheyer had already gone through and given his guys several marquee matchups through the non-con, the icing on the cake will be a home matchup against the defending national champs.
With this addition to the schedule, Duke legitimately might have the most difficult non-conference schedule in college basketball next season.
Full Duke basketball 2025-26 non-conference slate as of June 12th:
vs. Indiana State
vs. Texas (November 4th at Spectrum Center)
at Army (November 11th)
vs. Kansas (November 18th at Madison Square Garden)
vs. Arkansas (November 27th at United Center)
vs. Florida (December 2nd)
at Michigan State (December)
vs. Texas Tech (December 20th at Madison Square Garden)
vs. Michigan (February at Capital One Arena)
That's seven matchups in the regular season non-con alone against power conference opponents, and five of those squads are ranked in ESPN's preseason top 25 rankings. Three of them are in the top ten in Florida, Michigan, and Texas Tech. This will be an absolutely brutal first few months of the season for this young Blue Devils squad.
With a slate of never-ending tests against power conference opponents, it begs the question of what record would be a good or great one at the end of this slate. Including the games against Indiana State and Army, if the Blue Devils finish the non-conference stretch with a 6-3 or even 5-4 record, there's a pretty good shot that they'd still be ranked right near the top ten of the AP Poll.
There's pros and cons that come with scheduling an early season schedule this tough. The positives are that these games test a program early, and Duke will absolutely need it next season with how young it is. Additionally, racking up non-conference wins over really good teams boosts a program's NCAA Tournament resume heavily at the early portion of the season. Last season's non-con aided Duke tremendously in terms of March Madness seeding with how abysmal the ACC was as a conference from top to bottom.
However, the downsides are that the program could start off with a really bad record. Technically, it's a possibility that come late December, the Blue Devils are sitting with a 2-6 or 3-5 record. Will that be the case? Probably not. Although a slate this tough benefits young teams greatly, if Duke loses most of these big time contests, it could be quite a confidence blow to the rotation heading into ACC play.