Duke forward Cameron Boozer (12) and guard/forward Nikolas Khamenia (14) celebrate during a college basketball exhibition game against Tennessee and Duke on October 26, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Duke Given Respectable Ranking in Sports Illustrated’s Preseason Top 25

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Oct 29, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Duke Blue Devils basketball program this season is going to be one of the best once again. A lot of credit has to go to head coach Jon Scheyer and his coaching staff for once again putting together one of the best rosters, if not the best roster together heading into the new season.

Scheyer and Duke had a great season a year ago, but came up short of their ultimate goal. That goal was to win a National Championship.

They came up short in the final four, but this season they are all in and will be going for it once again. Scheyer knows what it takes to get to the top of college basketball, and the progress he makes with his team is to get them to be the best they can be both on and off the court.

This team is built to win it all, and they will need to do the little things right and continue to build that all-important chemistry that is going to help them down the line. This Blue Devils team is going to be good to watch, and if they can play as one unit, they are going to be a hard team to beat when it counts the most.

Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated has Duke coming in at No. 4 in his preseason Top 25 rankings.

Duke No. 4

Revenge is on the Blue Devils’ minds in 2025, and while it’s unrealistic to expect even much-hyped freshman Cameron Boozer to match what Cooper Flagg brought to Durham, N.C., talent is certainly not in short supply. Duke could conceivably have three more NBA draft lottery picks and five more first-round picks in 2026 if things break right. They also have a nice mix of players with experience from last season’s disappointment to go with a loaded freshman class.

Keeping Caleb Foster, the team’s likely starting point guard, and Isaiah Evans, likely its best shooter, was huge, and returning a pair of impressive talents at center inPatrick Ngongba II and Maliq Brownis also nice considering how hard it is to find quality frontcourt players in the portal. So while Duke may not have the ability to totally overwhelm teams the way it did a year ago, there still might not be a more talented team in college basketball than the Blue Devils.

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

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