Off to an 8-0 start to the 2025-26 campaign, the Duke basketball program is gearing up for a marquee matchup on Tuesday night, as it will host No. 15 Florida at Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the third annual ACC/SEC Challenge. The Blue Devils already own wins over No. 21 Kansas, No. 25 Arkansas, and Texas, but there's still a long way to go through their gauntlet of a non-conference slate. Duke's victory over the Razorbacks on Thanksgiving kicked off a stretch of five games where the Blue Devils will face four ranked opponents. After hosting the reigning national champions, Duke will head to East Lansing to take on No. 7 Michigan State in a true road game on Saturday, then take on No. 19 Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on December 20th.
Ahead of Duke's date with Florida, we spoke with FanSided sister site Hail Florida Hail's Site Expert Benjamin Henderson to give Duke fans a better idea of what to expect from the Gators.
Florida expert gives Duke fans key insight ahead of crucial matchup for Duke basketball
Ball Durham:
"How crucial is it for the Gators to pick up a quality win after a slow start to the 2025-26 campaign?"
Hail Florida Hail:
"Had Florida not dropped its game to TCU on Thanksgiving, I don't think the pressure would be as big. And on paper, Florida will have plenty of Q1 chances once SEC play begins. But it is clear this Florida team isn't the same as last year's squad, and if they go through this non-conference slate without any Q1 wins, I think there will start to be some reason for panic ahead of January."
BD:
"Does Todd Golden need to double Cam Boozer down low right away, or is the length of the frontcourt enough to handle the star rookie?"
HFH:
"The front court is the only thing keeping the Gators afloat right now, but they also struggled mightily against Arizona and Koa Peat. I would imagine Golden is going to start out trying to not double, but his hand might get forced."
BD:
"If Xaivian Lee struggles once again against a high-major opponent, is Florida in major trouble for the remainder of the season?"
HFH:
"He finally had a decent game against Providence, but it is clear he is a liability on the team. The issue with Lee is that he dribbles around like he's doing an 'And 1' mixtape, but he never actually creates separation. Urban Klavzar has been solid off the bench, but he is more of a spot up shooter than a playmaker. The loss to TCU really hammered home that Florida just doesn't have the guards to take care of the ball when teams opt the faintest amount of pressure."
BD:
"Who or what needs to be the X Factor for the Gators?"
HFH:
"Florida can hang around this game if it can control the glass. The Gators are still third in the country in offensive rebounding percentage. Duke, meanwhile, is 57th in defensive rebounding percentage. But if Florida at all gets mitigated on the glass, there just isn't enough offensive firepower on this team right now to keep up against Duke if the Blue Devils maintain their normal offensive averages."
Florida has been a difficult team to evaluate so far, considering the lackluster guard play. The Gators own just one victory over a top-50 KenPom team, and that's over Miami on a neutral floor. Florida sits at 5-2 on the year with losses to No. 2 Arizona and TCU, but with potentially the best frontcourt in all of college basketball, Boozer's night will be made difficult, and Scheyer will need to find creative action to run to get his shooters involved early.