The ACC/SEC Challenge pairings have been released, and Duke will be playing Florida in the Swamp.
This is the first time that Duke has visited Florida since both teams were in the SEC in 1937 – 89 years ago.
It’s also going to be a Top 5 clash, and a chance for Florida to avenge their defeat in Cameron last season.
In years past, this would have been played on a neutral court. We give Jon Scheyer a ton of credit for being willing to play true road games. It’s also pretty cool to see just how fired up
those crowds are to play the Blue Devils.
This adds to an already crazy non-conference schedule that will see Duke play Michigan, Illinois, UConn, Michigan State, Gonzaga, Georgia, and now, the Gators. And don’t overlook the exhibition games. It looks like Duke is heading to Kansas, for one, and possibly Tennessee for the other.
Here’s how the rest stack up:
- Arkansas at North Carolina
- Auburn at Clemson
- Boston College at Georgia
- Wake Forest at LSU
- Pitt at Missouri
- Syracuse at Oklahoma
- Ole Miss at Virginia Tech
- South Carolina at NC State
- Florida State at Tennessee
- Texas at Louisville
There’s plenty of time to think about all this, but first impressions: Arkansas at UNC should be revealing. No one really knows what to expect with a new coach and roster. It’ll be telling.
We think Clemson could certainly take Auburn, and it’s in Littlejohn, which is a great advantage.
BC will have a tough time winning at Georgia.
Wake Forest at LSU? That’s tough, too. Will Wade has more money to spend, so probably the Tigers.
Pitt at Missouri. The Tigers have a great freshman class, so for the moment, we’d take them.
Syracuse is rebuilding, but Gerry McNamara has chops. We’ll take the ‘Cuse.
Ole Miss vs. the Hokies? Chris Beard is a great coach, but the Rebels finished last year at 15-20. We have no idea what kind of talent he brought in. For right now, we’d take the home team here.
We’ll go with NC State over South Carolina. Justin Gainey should have his team playing great defense.
Everyone is going to take Tennessee over FSU, and it’s logical. However, the ‘Noles had a major flaw last season, with no post game. Have you seen Marcis Ponder? When we saw he was 7-0 and 300+ lbs, we assumed he was going to have to trim down. Well, maybe not. The guy looks like an absolute unit. Rick Barnes might be able to get him in foul trouble, but nobody is pushing that guy around.
Texas at Louisville should be fun. Right now, we’d go with the Cardinals. Their inside game should be a load, and if they can defend the perimeter, it could be a long night for the Longhorns.
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