Challenging slate awaits talented Blue Devil squad
LINKS: Printable schedule for your home/office/fridge | GoDuke.com complete schedule
The deep and talented 2010-11 Blue Devils will be tested early and often this season, facing what might be the toughest schedule in the country. Duke will appear on national TV 27 times with seven games against teams ranked in ESPN’s preseason top 25 by Andy Katz.
The clock is already ticking down, with the ball dropping and the season starting officially at Countdown to Craziness on Oct. 15th in Cameron. The program will kick the season off in style, raising last year’s national championship banner, distributing some prestigious jewelry, introducing this year’s squad, playing some hoops, throwing down some dunks and having a blast. Entertaining, and at times hilarious, videos will be shown and the Crazies will get a chance to see the team in action for the first time with an intersquad scrimmage that promises to be highly competitive given the depth on this year’s team.
After CTC and a pair of exhibition games, Duke will get rolling with three home games in a row beginning November 14th. The Devils will take on Princeton and Miami (OH) as part of the CBE Classic on the 14th and 16th and then Colgate will come to Durham for a November 19th game.
On November 21st, our players and staff will have to pack some larger bags than usual with a week-long road trip in store. The team will begin a grueling stretch of five games against top programs with a CBE Classic semifinal matchup against Marquette in Kansas City. A day later, we will face either Kansas State or Gonzaga. Both of those teams are expected to be among the nation’s best, with ESPN’s Katz ranking the Wildcats No. 5 and Gonzaga No. 9 in his preseason poll. After a pair of tough tests in the City of Fountains (KC), Duke Airlines will head to Oregon directly from KC.
On November 27th, the “Singler Showdown” will take place as Duke faces Oregon in the home of the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers, the Rose Garden. Kyle’s brother EJ will be a sophomore this season for the Ducks and a large contingent of Singler family, friends and fans will be in the house for the homecoming game about four hours away from the Singler’s home in Medford, OR.
After the trip out west, Duke will have no time to rest and relax, with Michigan State coming to Cameron for a big game between two teams likely to be ranked among the top five in the country when the season starts. The marquee ACC/Big 10 Challenge matchup will be one of the most hyped games of the season, and the Crazies will be out in full force supporting their Blue Devils and welcoming the Spartans to historic Cameron.
After facing a loaded MSU squad led by one of the best in the business in Tom Izzo, the tough stretch will continue in New Jersey at the Izod Center. A national championship game rematch will take place, with Duke facing Butler again. Our program has a great history in the Izod Center, posting a gaudy 18-1 mark all time including five NCAA regional final victories. After facing Marquette, Gonzaga/K-State, Oregon, Michigan State and Butler in a five-game stretch with only one game at home, our coaches and players should have a good feel for the team’s strengths and some great game experience as the ACC season creeps closer.
December 8th will be the start of a seven-game stretch with six games at home. After spending so much time on the road in late November and early December, the home stand will come at a good time as our guys wrap up the first semester academically and take final exams. Bradley will visit Cameron on the 8th followed by St. Louis on the 11th and Elon on the 20th after a break for exams.
On the 29th, Duke fans all over NC will get a chance to check out our team in person with a game against UNC-Greensboro in the Greensboro Coliseum. Greensboro will host the ACC Tournament for the second straight year this March, so our players will be quite familiar with the venue by the time our conference’s championship tourney rolls around.
After facing the Spartans of UNC-G, an athletic Miami team will visit Durham for our ACC opener on January 2nd. UAB will then come to town on the 5th before Maryland pays a visit on the 9th. The Crazies will be back from winter break by that time, ready to go against the Terps.
The Maryland game will mark the start of a formidable stretch of ACC games: at FSU on the January 12th, Virginia at home on January 15th, at NC State on January 19th, at Wake Forest on January 22nd and then home vs. Boston College on January 27th.
The Blue Devils will then take a break from ACC play on January 30th with a matchup against Big East foe St. John’s in Madison Square Garden. The contest against the Red Storm will mark our 21st game in Madison Square Garden in the past 12 seasons.
After the NYC trip, Duke will hit the road again for a February 2nd game at Maryland and then host NC State on February 5th. Cameron will be the focus of the college hoops world on February 9th when UNC makes the drive over for the first of the two annual regular-season meetings between the rivals. Tickets will be scarce, tents and body paint will be plentiful in K-Ville, and the atmosphere on campus will be one of a kind.
After an intense contest with the Tar Heels, Duke will head to Florida for another game against Miami on February 13th, followed by a road contest at UVA on February 16th. We’ll have our fourth of four Fox Sports Sunday night national TV games on February 20th when Georgia Tech visits Cameron.
February 23rd will mark our final non-league regular-season game of the year as Temple will come to campus. After facing the Owls, we’ll head to Blacksburg for a Saturday night showdown against the Hokies that will be featured on ESPN College GameDay.
Clemson will visit Durham on March 2nd for Senior Night and then we’ll close the regular season with a trip to Chapel Hill on March 5th. CBS will broadcast the game live for the first time in primetime on Saturday night, with the tip set for 8 PM.
After taking on such a rigorous schedule, the Blue Devils should be battle-tested heading into March Madness with the ACC Tournament beginning on March 10th and the Big Dance starting on March 15th. Before then, we have some big games to play, some records to break, some heads to turn and some championships to compete for. Stay tuned to DukeBluePlanet.com for daily coverage and behind-the-scenes updates from Countdown to Craziness all the way through March Madness. We look forward to sharing another great ride with the best fans in college hoops!
