No. 6 Duke Opens Season Against Texas in Dick Vitale Invitational

Tuesday, November 4

Charlotte, N.C.

8:45 p.m.

Duke University

Texas

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 6 Duke Opens Season Against Texas in Dick Vitale Invitational

11/3/2025 12:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Duke Game Notes (PDF)

The Opening Tip

Duke's 121st season of men's basketball tips off on Tuesday in the Dick Vitale Invitational, as the No. 6 Blue Devils play Texas at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. The broadcast on ESPN is slated to start at 8:45 p.m.
Among the preseason rankings, the Blue Devils are No. 6 in the Associated Press poll, No. 5 in the coaches poll and No. 10 according to ESPN.
Texas received votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches preseason polls.
Duke owns a 5-0 series advantage with the Longhorns since the first meeting in 2000.
Jon Scheyer enters his 13th season on the Duke coaching staff and fourth as head coach.
First-year Texas head coach Sean Miller owns a 487-196 (.713) on-court record in 20 seasons at Xavier and Arizona, and has a 2-2 record versus Duke - both wins with Arizona.
Duke is 103-35 (.746) all-time in 13 current NBA venues, including a 5-0 mark last season.
Duke boasts a record of 68-7 (.907) in season-opening contests since 1950, including a 14-3 ledger at neutral sites. The Blue Devils have won 25 consecutive season-openers.
Duke enters the 2025-26 campaign coming off its 18th Final Four appearance, 23rd ACC Tournament title and 21st ACC regular-season championship.
The Blue Devils finished 35-4 overall last season, marking the 17th 30-win season in program history.
Duke returns six players from last year, while also welcoming the nation's top-ranked recruiting class, headlined by Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year, Cameron Boozer.
Boozer averaged 28.5 points and 17.5 rebounds in Duke's two exhibition games with 33 points and 12 boards versus UCF, and 24 points and 23 caroms at Tennessee.
Isaiah Evans, who led last season's team in 3-point field goal percentage (41.6%), starts his sophomore campaign as a Preseason All-ACC Second Team selection.
The Blue Devils will play 10 regular-season games against teams ranked in ESPN's preseason top 25 - No. 2 Florida, No. 6 Louisville (twice), No. 8 Michigan, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 22 Kansas, No. 24 NC State and No. 25 North Carolina (twice).

The Texas Longhorns

Duke leads the series with Texas, 5-0, since the teams first met in 2000.
In the last matchup on Nov. 24, 2017, in Portland, Oregon, the top-ranked Blue Devils rallied to defeat Texas 85-78 in overtime at the PK80 Invitational, as Duke freshman Marvin Bagley III led the way with 34 points and 15 rebounds.
The Longhorns' 2024-25 campaign ended in the NCAA First Four with a loss to Xavier and an overall record of 19-16.
Texas is under the leadership of new head coach Sean Miller, who owns a 487-196 (.713) on-court record in 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach at Xavier and Arizona.
Miller has a 2-2 record vs. Duke - both wins with Arizona - a 93-77 victory in the 2011 NCAA tournament regional semifinals and a 72-66 triumph on Nov. 29, 2013, in the championship game of the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden.
Senior guard Jordan Pope returns to the Longhorns after averaging 11.0 points with 60 assists and a team-high 35 steals last season, appearing in every contest with 32 starts.
Guard Tramon Mark is another double-digit scoring returner for Texas, averaging 10.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 2024-25.

On This Date - Nov. 4

Duke won its only game played on Nov. 4 - last year's season and home opener versus Maine.
On Nov. 4, 2024, the seventh-ranked Blue Devils defeated Maine, 96-62, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Six different Blue Devils finished with at least 10 points, paced by Kon Knueppel's 22, and Cooper Flagg became the first Duke player to register at least 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in a freshman debut.

Last Time Out

No. 6 Duke traveled to No. 18 Tennessee for an 83-76 victory in an exhibition game Sunday, Oct. 26, in front of a sellout crowd of 21,678.
The Blue Devils were led by Cameron Boozer, who stuffed the stat sheet with 24 points, 23 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal.
Isaiah Evans also eclipsed 20 points, highlighted by four three-pointers en route to 22 total points.
Patrick Ngongba II also reached double-figures, scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while also going 4-for-4 from the free throw line. The sophomore finished one rebound shy of a double-double, reeling in nine caroms and led the team with three blocks.
After trailing by six at halftime, 43-37, Duke exploded out of the locker room with a 23-9 run to seize control of the contest.
The Blue Devils led for the final 15:48 and went a perfect 20-for-20 from the free throw line in the second frame to close out the exhibition victory.
Duke's defense was key following halftime, limiting the Volunteers to just 33 second-half points. The Blue Devils held Tennessee without a made field goal for over seven minutes, from the 10:11 to 2:59 mark, to stifle the hosts on the offensive end.

Exhibition Opener

Duke opened exhibition action with a 96-71 victory over UCF on Tuesday, Oct. 21, as the Blue Devils hosted the Knights in their Brotherhood Run, welcoming former Duke star Johnny Dawkins back to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
After entering halftime with a one-point lead, 40-39, the Blue Devils scored 56 points in the second half, while limiting the visitors to just 32, to pull away for the 25-point victory.
Cameron Boozer led all scorers with 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, while adding a game-high 12 rebounds alongside four assists.
Cayden Boozer logged a game-high five assists, chipping in nine points, three rebounds and two steals.
Isaiah Evans, Nikolas Khamenia and Darren Harris joined Cameron Boozer in double figures, scoring 14, 14 and 11, respectively.
Alongside Cameron Boozer's 12 boards, four other Blue Devils finished with at least six caroms, helping Duke finish with a 54-41 edge on the glass. Khamenia reeled in eight, while Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II both brought in seven apiece. Harris added six rebounds of his own.

The 2025-26 Duke Blue Devils

Entering the 2025-26 campaign under fourth-year head coach Jon Scheyer, Duke returns six players from a squad that finished 35-4 overall last season, capturing the program's 23rd ACC Tournament title, 21st ACC regular-season crown and advancing to its 18th Final Four.
The Blue Devils also welcome the nation's No. 1-ranked recruiting class.

Strength of Schedule

Duke's 2025-26 non-conference lineup features eight opponents that reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago: Texas (Nov. 4; Charlotte, N.C.), Kansas (Nov. 18; New York, N.Y.), Arkansas (Nov. 27; Chicago), Florida (Dec. 2; Durham), Michigan State (Dec. 6; East Lansing, Mich.), Lipscomb (Dec. 16; Durham), Texas Tech (Dec. 20; New York, N.Y.) and Michigan (Feb. 21; Washington, D.C.). Of those teams, five advanced to the Sweet 16, with three reaching the Elite Eight.
The Blue Devils will play 10 games against teams ranked in ESPN's preseason top 25 - No. 2 Florida, No. 6 Louisville (twice), No. 8 Michigan, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 22 Kansas, No. 24 NC State and No. 25 North Carolina (twice).

Success in Season-Openers

Duke boasts a record of 68-7 (.907) in season-opening contests since 1950, including a 14-3 mark at neutral sites.
The Blue Devils have won 25 consecutive season-openers.
Duke's last season-opening loss was on Nov. 11, 1999, an overtime setback versus Stanford, 80-79, at Madison Square Garden.

AP Poll Streak Extends

With the release of the Associated Press preseason poll on Oct. 13, Duke was ranked No. 6 -- extending a notable streak.
The Blue Devils have now been ranked in the top 10 at least once in 30 consecutive seasons -- the longest active streak nationally. The next closest program is Kansas, which has held a top-10 ranking at some point in each of the last 20 seasons.
The No. 6 ranking also marked the 18th consecutive season that the Blue Devils made their debut in the top 10.

Duke's Three-Point Streak

Duke has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 1,264 straight games, the longest streak nationally.
It has been more than 35 years since Duke was held without a three-point field goal -- Dec. 30, 1989, versus Hawai'i.

Nearly 75% Winning Percentage in NBA Arenas

Duke is a combined 103-35 (.746) all-time in 13 current NBA venues.
The Blue Devils have won 33 of their last 42 at NBA venues, including a 5-0 mark last season.
Duke has a 13-5 (.722) record in NBA facilities under head coach Jon Scheyer, including a 10-2 ledger in the past two seasons.
The Blue Devils possess a 13-1 record at the Charlotte Hornets' home court, including 11 consecutive victories. Duke's last setback at the now-named Spectrum Center was on March 15, 2008, a 78-74 loss to Clemson in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
Duke celebrated the 2025 ACC Tournament title at the Spectrum Center after defeating Georgia Tech, North Carolina and No. 13 Louisville.
During the 2025-26 campaign, the Blue Devils will play five regular-season contests at NBA venues - Spectrum Center (Charlotte Hornets) on Nov. 4 vs. Texas, Madison Square Garden (New York Knicks) on Nov. 18 vs. Kansas and Dec. 20 vs. Texas Tech, United Center (Chicago Bulls) on Nov. 27 vs. Arkansas, and Capital One Arena (Washington Wizards) on Feb. 21 vs. Michigan.
The ACC Tournament returns to the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets, on March 10-14, 2026.

All-Access with Coach Jon Scheyer

The weekly television show, "Duke All-Access with Jon Scheyer," is back for its fourth season in 2025-26.
The 30-minute show features Jon Scheyer and his Blue Devils team. Presented in magazine format and produced by John Roth, the show also includes informative player features and behind-the-scenes access to the Duke program.
A production of Blue Devil Sports Properties from LEARFIELD, the show airs locally on ABC-11 WTVD on Sundays at noon ET and is live streamed on ABC11.com Saturdays at 10 a.m. ET. It is also available regionally across the FanDuel Sports Network on Fridays at 12 p.m. ET; and on MASN Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. ET. It can also be viewed via the Duke Athletics YouTube Channel and archived on GoDuke.com.