Jon Scheyer isn’t afraid of challenging his team with a difficult non-conference schedule. The Duke head coach hopes that the tough matchups early in the season will prepare his squad for ACC and tournament play, and once again, he’s loaded up the early part of the Blue Devils’ season with some marquee battles.
Before the official season even begins, the co-favorites to win the national title will face off against Tennessee and Kansas, the latter in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.
The regular season hits the ground running with a matchup against perennial Big 10 powerhouse Michigan State on Nov. 10 in the United Center in Chicago. The Spartans reached the Sweet 16 last season before falling to UConn, who went on to defeat Duke in the Elite Eight
and make the national title game.
A home game against Illinois, which made the Final Four this past season, arrives on Nov. 17 before Scheyer and his squad fly west to take on Washington State in Palm Desert, Calif., on Nov. 21 and a rematch against UConn on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas.
A battle of the two favorites to bring home the national title trophy comes on Dec. 1 when the Blue Devils travel to Gainesville, Fla., to face Todd Golden’s Gators. After the Brotherhood Game against Harvard, another SEC foe awaits in Georgia when Duke battles the Bulldogs in Madison Square Garden on Dec. 8.
Duke returns to Madison Square Garden on Dec. 21 for a rematch against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders pulled off an 82-81 upset victory over the Blue Devils last December in the same venue.
The final non-conference game comes in the middle of ACC play when the Blue Devils face off against Gonzaga in Detroit on Feb. 20.
Here is the complete non-conference schedule:
Preseason
Oct. 8 - vs. Belmont
Oct. 20 - vs. Tennessee
Oct. 25 - at Kansas
Regular Season
Nov. 2 - vs. Army
Nov. 5 - vs. Coastal Carolina
Nov. 10 - vs. Michigan State (Chicago, IL)
Nov. 13 - vs. SIU Edwardsville
Nov. 17 - vs. Illinois
Nov. 21 - vs. Washington State (Palm Desert, CA)
Nov. 25 - vs. UConn (Las Vegas, NV)
Dec. 1 - at Florida
Dec. 4 - vs. Harvard
Dec. 8 - vs. Georgia (New York, NY)
Dec. 15 - vs. Campbell
Dec. 17 - vs. Grambling State
Dec. 21 - vs. Texas Tech (New York, NY)
Feb. 20 - vs. Gonzaga (Detroit, MI)
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Duke basketball completes 2026-27 non-conference schedule
