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Duke Basketball Looks to Extend Impressive Winning Streak in Openers

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated Nov 3, 2025 8:00 AM ET

One year ago, Duke basketball honored freshman sensation and Maine native Cooper Flagg with a home game against the Maine Black Bears to tip off the Blue Devils' 2024-25 campaign. Flagg & Co. prevailed in Cameron Indoor Stadium, 96-62, to begin Jon Scheyer's third season at the helm on a high note. The victory marked the program's 25th straight in regular season openers, with four of those outings taking place on a neutral court.

The Streak

Now 93-27 overall in regular-season openers since the program's first year of existence in 1905-06, the 38-year-old Jon Scheyer and his No. 6-ranked Blue Devils aim to make it 26 straight such victories when they face the unranked Texas Longhorns in Charlotte's Spectrum Center at 8:45 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN).

Duke's last loss in a regular season opener didn't even take place this century, as the 1999-00 Blue Devils fell to the Stanford Cardinal on a neutral court in overtime, 80-79, on Nov. 11, 1999.

Speaking of undefeated marks this century, the Blue Devils are 5-0 versus Texas since 2000. All five of those meetings took place on a neutral court.

The most recent game in the series, an 85-78 Duke basketball win in Portland, Ore., was on Nov. 24, 2017. And the previous matchup, a 74-69 victory in Greensboro, N.C., was in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in 2009, coinciding with Scheyer's junior season as a Blue Devil guard under then-head coach Mike Krzyzewski (Scheyer was an assistant under Coach K for the win over Texas in 2017).

Texas is entering its first season under the command of former Xavier and Arizona head coach Sean Miller.

Following the bout against the Longhorns, the 2025-26 Duke basketball squad will return to Durham for a home contest against the unranked Western Carolina Catamounts at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday (The CW). As for the significance of that game in terms of the program's winning streaks, it's worth pointing out that the Blue Devils haven't dropped a home opener in any of the past 43 seasons.

Behind eye-popping double-double performances by five-star freshman forward Cameron Boozer, Duke tallied a 2-0 clip in exhibition outings. The Blue Devils prevailed at home over the UCF Knights, 96-71, on Oct. 21 before defeating the Tennessee Volunteers, 83-76, in a road bout last Sunday night.

This article first appeared on Duke Blue Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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