Duke Basketball Provides All-Access Look at Squad Introduction

Those festivities featured the players' individual introductions and the Blue-White scrimmage, the last intrasquad action in front of fans before the exhibition slate tips off later this month.

After squaring off against UCF in Cameron on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. ET (ACCNX), the Blue Devils will wrap up their exhibition schedule when they head to Tennessee to face the Volunteers on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

Just Weeks Away From the 2025-26 Duke Basketball Campaign

Then, as Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer spoke about at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte this week, things get real in a hurry for his squad, which features the nation's No. 1 recruiting class and a handful of returning talents, including projected sophomore starters Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba II.

"For me, it's actually hard to believe we're already in this moment where we're playing games in a couple of weeks," Scheyer noted. "Start of the season is less than a month."

His Blue Devils, projected to rank among the top 10 in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, open their regular season when they battle Texas in Charlotte's Spectrum Center on Nov. 4 at 8:45 p.m. ET (ESPN).

• "We've had a big-time offseason," Scheyer said, "focused on individual development from everything from their bodies to their skills to, most importantly, how to be connected together, and that's in every way possible.

• "We know it's going to be a really difficult schedule that we have to play, but these guys are up for the challenge...So thankful for this group that we have. Really believe in this team. Now, it's a matter of getting connected, building that continuity, and developing a great toughness for the games that we're going to play."