Duke Basketball is gearing up for a challenging non-conference schedule, but they’ve just a valuable opportunity to prepare with an elite exhibition game against Tennessee. The Volunteers will host the Blue Devils at the Food City Center in Knoxville, providing a great test for Jon Scheyer’s young squad before the regular season kicks off.
The Duke rookies won’t have any time to adjust to the college game before the demanding non-conference slate kicks off, as the Blue Devils are set to face off against Texas to open their season in the inaugural Dickie V Classic. Having an opportunity to face an elite high-major club before the season gets going will pay dividends for the Blue Devils in the long run, given how inexperienced this group is.
Tennessee comes in at No. 23 in ESPN’s latest preseason top 25 rankings, headlined by incoming five-star freshman Nate Ament. Duke is ranked No. 12. Ament was linked to Duke for a majority of his recruitment, especially after four-star recruit Shelton Henderson originally committed to Durham. The Blue Devils still boast the No. 1 overall 2025 recruiting class, headlined by five-star forward Cameron Boozer.
This group is still extremely young, and much of the offensive potential of this team will rely on how the freshmen produce. Getting a marquee exhibition matchup to give the freshmen a feel for the college game before Duke begins the regular season is a huge boost for Scheyer and his staff.
