Duke and true road games

[ATSPENCE9]

When can we hope to see Duke go back to scheduling a few non conference true road games (besides ACC/B1G Challenge)? I know a lot of the scheduling has to do with tickets and the amount of revenue the Duke brand brings to each non Cameron game. If they eventually do start scheduling a few true non conference road games, who would you like to see them play. I personally would like to see a few home and home match ups like the following:

Duke vs. Butler
Duke vs. Gonzaga
Duke vs. Kentucky
Duke vs. Kansas
Duke vs. UCLA
Duke vs. Villanova
Duke vs. Maryland
Duke vs. Harvard or Yale or Princeton

[TruBlu]

Maryland?!? Not just nope. Hell nope.

The rest on the list would be fine.

[bob blue devil]

yes, it would be fun. but if we add true road games, we need to subtract something. i'm a bigger fan of the big arena games, e.g. elon at greensboro or the champion's classic, which give our guys a chance to play in a tournament-like venue - probably good prep for tourney games and a small recruiting draw. we had about 5 of these this year. that leaves our cupcake home games of which there were around 6 this year. some believe those games are important for live practice (i don't agree, but appreciate that it's debatable). our game with maine this year drives me nuts - i can see scheduling a team we are very likely to beat, but maine was highly likely to be (and turned out to be) one of the worst teams in div 1. that feels like a useless endeavor.

[CDu]

With the following:

1. Champions Classic guaranteeing a neutral site game with one of Kansas, Kentucky, or Michigan St;
2. The ACC/Big Ten basically guaranteeing us a marquee road game against a top Big Ten team every other year; and
3. A neutral site game against another big-time school or two in the preseason tourneys

We simply aren't going to schedule true road games in the non-conference schedule.

[bob blue devil]

With the following:

1. Champions Classic guaranteeing a neutral site game with one of Kansas, Kentucky, or Michigan St;
2. The ACC/Big Ten basically guaranteeing us a marquee road game against a top Big Ten team every other year; and
3. A neutral site game against another big-time school or two in the preseason tourneys

We simply aren't going to schedule true road games in the non-conference schedule.

acknowledging that it isn't going to happen, the question of 'why?' remains. you highlight the some of the marquee stuff that is competing with it, but not the home game cupcakes. is it simply getting the iron dukes their fill of home games? keeping the boys from being on the road too much so that they can actually participate in college?

[Newton_14]

Maryland?!? Not just nope. Hell nope.

The rest on the list would be fine.
For real. I cannot believe that anyone would put Maryland on a list like this. Our coaches families cannot even attend Maryland games anymore due to safety concerns which should tell one all they need to know.

As to the topic, this is one of those areas where K long ago made a change and seems locked in on not doing it no matter what. We used to have home and home series with really good teams regularly with teams like Michigan, UCLA, LSU, Arizona, St Johns, Georgetown, Purdue, etc but have gone cold turkey on that for probably 15 to 20 years or more.

Duke charges outrageous prices for tickets now, and unless we are in a year where we get a home game in the Big 10 Challenge, the number of big games at home is lame.


I would love to have a home and home with Kansas since their arena is the second best college arena in the nation, but also teams like Gonzaga, Arizona, Villanova, Georgetown, etc. It would be great.

[CDu]

acknowledging that it isn't going to happen, the question of 'why?' remains. you highlight the some of the marquee stuff that is competing with it, but not the home game cupcakes. is it simply getting the iron dukes their fill of home games? keeping the boys from being on the road too much so that they can actually participate in college?

Because the staff feels it has enough challenging games on the schedule.

When the ACC added two more ACC schedule, the staff made the decision to keep the lighter games around exam time and winter break and to remove the challenging road game(s). They have apparently decided that it is preferable to not have additional major opponents added to the schedule.

And I am fine with that. We get plenty of marquee matchups. More than almost anyone else in the country. And by adding two conference games (one on the road), the staff felt it better to take away two comparable games. Which meant the challenging non-con games.

Such is a downstream consequence of increasing the conference schedule.

[bob blue devil]

Because the staff feels it has enough challenging games on the schedule.

When the ACC added two more ACC schedule, the staff made the decision to keep the lighter games around exam time and winter break and to remove the challenging road game(s). They have apparently decided that it is preferable to not have additional major opponents added to the schedule.

And I am fine with that. We get plenty of marquee matchups. More than almost anyone else in the country. And by adding two conference games (one on the road), the staff felt it better to take away two comparable games. Which meant the challenging non-con games.

Such is a downstream consequence of increasing the conference schedule.

not shooting the messenger, but meh. iron sharpens iron.

[FadedTackyShirt]

With the following:

1. Champions Classic guaranteeing a neutral site game with one of Kansas, Kentucky, or Michigan St;
2. The ACC/Big Ten basically guaranteeing us a marquee road game against a top Big Ten team every other year; and
3. A neutral site game against another big-time school or two in the preseason tourneys

We simply aren't going to schedule true road games in the non-conference schedule.

Now that K is done with USA basketball, team should add a Summer international trip as allowed by NCAA rules. For better or worse, K's always going to have young talent and that kind of bonding is good for the team on and off the court. Maui Invitational also provides similar dividends.

I'd add a neutral site game in the time zone where the F4 will be played that season and/or at altitude if that's also applicable.

Also makes sense to play a non-conference game on the ACCT court or at least play a game in that metro location.

It's absurd that the ACC plays regular season conference games every day but Friday in a geographically far flung conference. Student has to be part of the equation. Build the schedule around recruiting, seeding, alumni enclaves, academic prioritities, and broadening the horizons for players.

K schedules and prepares for March. Even the GOAT has quirks (short bench, scheduling, OADs) that annoy some fans, but none should be surprising at this point.

[CDu]

Now that K is done with USA basketball, team should add a Summer international trip as allowed by NCAA rules. For better or worse, K's always going to have young talent and that kind of bonding is good for the team on and off the court. Maui Invitational also provides similar dividends.

I'd add a neutral site game in the time zone where the F4 will be played that season and/or at altitude if that's also applicable.

Also makes sense to play a non-conference game on the ACCT court or at least play a game in that metro location.

It's absurd that the ACC plays regular season conference games every day but Friday in a geographically far flung conference. Student has to be part of the equation. Build the schedule around recruiting, seeding, alumni enclaves, academic prioritities, and broadening the horizons for players.

K schedules and prepares for March. Even the GOAT has quirks (short bench, scheduling, OADs) that annoy some fans, but none should be surprising at this point.

Worth noting that we played essentially a road game in Las Vegas this year. Same time zone as Phoenix. And we played two games in New York City. Not at the Barclay's, but the team was certainly familiar with the area.

So the team actually did two of the things you were looking for.

[FadedTackyShirt]

Worth noting that we played essentially a road game in Las Vegas this year. Same time zone as Phoenix. And we played two games in New York City. Not at the Barclay's, but the team was certainly familiar with the area.

So the team actually did two of the things you were looking for.

That's why I mentioned those caveats. With nearly 40 years of data points, K's pretty predictable on scheduling.

ACCT returns to Brooklyn next season, a game at Barclay's or MSG will be on the schedule.

2018 F4 will be in San Antonio. Highly likely to play in TX next season. Only questions are who/where: Spurs home floor, Houston, or Dallas? UT in Austin is not likely. Probably Rice on a neutral floor with a 2019 return game in CIS or CLT (pending 2019 ACCT reschedule).

After seeing the reaction in Greenville, Duke's not playing @ Maryland or taking a taxing trip to Spokane to play the 'Zags. May play Butler on the Pacers home floor the next time the F4 is in Indy. F4s are in LA's and Vegas' future (new NFL stadiums). Future road/neutral games with UCLA, USC, and UNLV will be in the mix.

Ivies' gyms are tiny: not playing in any of them, although OK for pre or post exam games in CIS. Same for Davidson's home gym, even if/when the ACCT returns to CLT.

[BandAlum83]

When can we hope to see Duke go back to scheduling a few non conference true road games (besides ACC/B1G Challenge)? I know a lot of the scheduling has to do with tickets and the amount of revenue the Duke brand brings to each non Cameron game. If they eventually do start scheduling a few true non conference road games, who would you like to see them play. I personally would like to see a few home and home match ups like the following:

Duke vs. Butler
Duke vs. Gonzaga
Duke vs. Kentucky
Duke vs. Kansas
Duke vs. UCLA
Duke vs. Villanova
Duke vs. Maryland
Duke vs. Harvard or Yale or Princeton


Maryland? No, they aren't worthy. Full stop.

[Troublemaker]

acknowledging that it isn't going to happen, the question of 'why?' remains. you highlight the some of the marquee stuff that is competing with it, but not the home game cupcakes. is it simply getting the iron dukes their fill of home games? keeping the boys from being on the road too much so that they can actually participate in college?

Just simple disinterest, imo. They don't think adding a marquee home-and-home opponent would help them. Would be fun for the fans, though, and I would love to have it...

[Wander]

This is by far my least favorite part of Duke basketball. Not because I think it makes our team any worse or less prepared for the tournament, but because it's lame and not fun. And no, I don't want games that are "essentially" road games by being in the same metro area as our opponent - I want to play in the opposing team's home arena.

I'd love it if every year we had:

A home-and-home with Kansas (best non-Duke arena like Newton_14 said)
A home-and-home with a west coast team like UCLA, Arizona, or Gonzaga (please, spare me the whining about how we had bad refs 25 years ago in Tucson)
A home-and-home with a mid-major like Wichita State (please, spare me the bogus garbage argument about how there's "nothing to gain" from a game like this for a powerhouse)

Along with the ACC/Big 10 challenge, that would give us 2 true road games in the non-conference a year. That's not some wildly unfeasible thing. Our schedule would be 100 times more fun.

[Olympic Fan]

This is by far my least favorite part of Duke basketball. Not because I think it makes our team any worse or less prepared for the tournament, but because it's lame and not fun. And no, I don't want games that are "essentially" road games by being in the same metro area as our opponent - I want to play in the opposing team's home arena.

I'd love it if every year we had:

A home-and-home with Kansas (best non-Duke arena like Newton_14 said)
A home-and-home with a west coast team like UCLA, Arizona, or Gonzaga (please, spare me the whining about how we had bad refs 25 years ago in Tucson)
A home-and-home with a mid-major like Wichita State (please, spare me the bogus garbage argument about how there's "nothing to gain" from a game like this for a powerhouse)

Along with the ACC/Big 10 challenge, that would give us 2 true road games in the non-conference a year. That's not some wildly unfeasible thing. Our schedule would be 100 times more fun.

To me, the constant complaining about playing "true road games" is lame.

We play nine true road games a year in the most hostile arenas possible. You think a road game in November or December would toughen us up or prepare us more for postseason that our road games at UNC, Syracuse, Louisville, Virginia, Notre Dame, FSU and Miami?

You don't play NCAA games on the road (even the South Carolina game in Greenville was not a true road game). K likes to re-create the atmosphere of NCAA games by playing good teams in neutral or semi-neutral arenas. And those soft early and mid-season games at home are important for team-building -- trying out marginal players and finding the best combinations in a low-pressure environment.

For the record, Duke's SOS the last six years was 9, 10, 11, 6, 1 (in 2013) and 3. That's pretty solid.

I'm fine with K's scheduling philosophy. The only thing about it that bothers me are the whiners is brings out.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this issue.

[BandAlum83]

To me, the constant complaining about playing "true road games" is lame.

We play nine true road games a year in the most hostile arenas possible. You think a road game in November or December would toughen us up or prepare us more for postseason that our road games at UNC, Syracuse, Louisville, Virginia, Notre Dame, FSU and Miami?

You don't play NCAA games on the road (even the South Carolina game in Greenville was not a true road game). K likes to re-create the atmosphere of NCAA games by playing good teams in neutral or semi-neutral arenas. And those soft early and mid-season games at home are important for team-building -- trying out marginal players and finding the best combinations in a low-pressure environment.

For the record, Duke's SOS the last six years was 9, 10, 11, 6, 1 (in 2013) and 3. That's pretty solid.

I'm fine with K's scheduling philosophy. The only thing about it that bothers me are the whiners is brings out.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this issue.

The way K does scheduling is fine with me.

However, can we agree that the interests of the program aren't in perfect alignment with the fans entertainment desires?

And BTW, how much entertainment and fun will those same fans have if Duke consistently loses those road games?

I will say, playing at Michigan in December 91 against the FAB 5 was a wildly fun and entertaining game. I don't know that it would have been any less entertaining on a neutral court

[Wander]

You think a road game in November or December would toughen us up or prepare us more for postseason that our road games at UNC, Syracuse, Louisville, Virginia, Notre Dame, FSU and Miami?


Apparently, you didn't actually read my post that you quoted. I very explicitly said that my opinion has nothing to do with this. I think the idea that playing road games in the non-conference makes our team more prepared for the tournament is ridiculous.

[Olympic Fan]

Apparently, you didn't actually read my post that you quoted. I very explicitly said that my opinion has nothing to do with this. I think the idea that playing road games in the non-conference makes our team more prepared for the tournament is ridiculous.

I didn't necessary direct that comment at you. Sorry if it seems that way. But if you check the thread you will see comments that suggest that road non-conference games do prepare the team better ... for instance: "iron sharpens iron"

[duke2x]

I will offer my take to this annual topic. Duke schedules non-conference games 95% for recruiting and 5% for alumni. Contrary to what the media will say, Duke consistently schedules the maximum any P5 team will away from home. Next year will be a 6-6 or 7-6 split depending on whether the Nike Tournament in Portland has the maximum number of exempt games. We already know the vast majority of those 6 for next year:

Nike: 3 in Portland v. TBD.
@ St. John's
v. MSU in Chicago
Almost certainly @Big 10 for the next 2 years. We are +2 in home games in this series. The opponent won't be MSU, NW, or MD if Duke has any say. I think Purdue or MN are possibilities here. MI and WI don't match unless we start over in the home-away cycle.

When the ACC moves to 20 after 1 more year, you can trim 1 A/N game from that list just like when the ACC moved to 18. The days of the UCLA and MI series are behind us thanks to TV and the ACC wanting conference inventory. That inventory for ESPN next year is pretty bad, and I would not be surprised to see another "transitional" schedule that repeats trips to Louisville and Syracuse for Duke.

Instead of adjusting the non-conference schedule, the one change that is necessary is eliminating the road game NCAA scenario we had this year. Either go back to the pre-pod system or prohibit a 6+ seed from playing less than 200 miles from campus in the first 2 rounds. I firmly believe Duke plays this weekend if we play SC in 45 other states.

[FadedTackyShirt]

I will offer my take to this annual topic. Duke schedules non-conference games 95% for recruiting and 5% for alumni.

When the ACC moves to 20 after 1 more year, you can trim 1 A/N game from that list just like when the ACC moved to 18. The days of the UCLA and MI series are behind us thanks to TV and the ACC wanting conference inventory. That inventory for ESPN next year is pretty bad, and I would not be surprised to see another "transitional" schedule that repeats trips to Louisville and Syracuse for Duke.

Is/was there any discussion about tweaking the ACC conference schedule structure (i.e. adding/subtracting/shuffling fixed rivalries) when moving from 18 to 20?

Duke/Carolina twice a year makes sense. Traditionalists might also like to play Wake and NCSU twice every year, but personally have never viewed either as a major rival and the annual Duke/Wake hoops/football pairing seems forced.

Would prefer one fixed h/a rivalry (UNC) every year and then let the other five h/a series rotate. Get the Big 4 tradition, but would get unwieldy to create 3 artificial annual rivals for the newer conference schools.

[devil84]

Duke/Carolina twice a year makes sense. Traditionalists might also like to play Wake and NCSU twice every year, but personally have never viewed either as a major rival and the annual Duke/Wake hoops/football pairing seems forced.

You must have become a fan after the 80s. Having gone to high school in the area, the first day of class was usually spent answering the teacher's roll call with the team you root for. Only one answer was ever appropriate, there was NEVER a second choice. The Big 4 tournament was a big deal. The ACC tournament on TV in school on Fridays was where you showed your rivalry spirit.

At Duke in the early 80s, Wake and State were definitely rivals. Those games were anticipated just about as much as the Carolina game. Carolina was THE rival, but State and Wake were not far behind. There was quite a bit of parity between the teams back then, too.

To me, football games are an important part of the rivalry. More people can attend the game, it becomes an all-day event with tailgating, and there are many fewer games in a season making each game twice as important. Looking at our schedule versus Atlantic Division teams (because we have to play all in the Coastal division each year) from 2004 through 2016: Wake (our permanent partner in the Atlantic), 13; FSU, 7; Clemson, 5; BC, 4; NCSU, 3; Syracuse, 1, and Louisville, 1. (Hmmm....that hardly seems balanced!) You'd think we were rivals with FSU and Clemson instead! Heck, we played Maryland 3 times from '04-'10. And we've played Northwestern 4 times. We've played NCCU five times. And we won't play NCSU again until 2020. Seriously. It's hard to have a rivalry when you only play a team in football four times in 17 years (since playing in '03: '08, '09, '13, '20).

The number of State fans that also cheer for Duke and/or Wake has grown (likewise Wake cheering for Duke and/or State). State fans want the Duke football rivalry back (I live in Raleigh, it's a big deal when we get to play each other again). And when my kids went to school (graduating high school in '07 and '09), one could answer the roll with multiple favorites, though it's rare to be a Carolina fan and another Big 4 fan. Per my WFU '13 son, Duke is definitely a rival and one of the few games that students care about attending.

I can see how people who began following sometime in the 90s or later would think that there isn't really a rivalry. Those of us who have been around a lot longer will respectfully disagree.

[FadedTackyShirt]

Grew up in California with Pac 8/10 sports and only knew Wake as Brian Piccolo's school before going to Duke in the early '90s. Great to see Rodney, Childress, Timmy, and the nutpuncher play over the years, but Wake and State don't move the needle as much as the pastel diploma mill for many non-native North Carolina Duke grads. Can still appreciate the schweeeet tie dyes and the finger wolf hand gestures, but creeped out by the Planter's Peanut guy and a girl wolf in a dress.

Sadly four 16 team far flung mega conferences fueled by TV $s seems inevitable. Traditional rivalries and missed classes be damned. Would much rather see a return to smaller, geographically sensible conferences with full round robin in football, double round robin in hoops, and regular season ending rivalry games. Unfortunately that pipe dream is not coming back.

At least the PAC preserved annual football games for the four CA schools despite being in different divisions, but alas no guaranteed double round robin in hoops. Balkanized mega conferences leave a lot to be desired.

[niveklaen]

I love that we added louisville, Syracuse, notre dame to the ACC. With them our schedules include more true road games against quality opponents than we had back in the 80's. It's not like they don't count because they are now in conference. Balkanized mega conferences are great.

And since when are road games better for fans than neutral games? More fans get to go to games at big venues.

[Troublemaker]

And since when are road games better for fans than neutral games? More fans get to go to games at big venues.

For the fans that attend home games, it's better. And for the fans that don't attend games and watch on TV, home-and-homes are more fun as well. (Usually; one's mileage may vary).

But I do agree that Duke tries to serve the NYC-area alumni, and that's a great thing.

[sagegrouse]

Duke was 3-6 on the road in the ACC in 2017 (4-6 overall) which was our worst ACC road record since our 0-9 (1-10 overall) road ACC record in our meltdown 1995 season under interim coach Pete Gaudet.

Although the focus in this thread is on "true road games," not just ACC road games, here is a rough summary of our ACC and overall road records since 1995. A losing road record is an atypical season for Duke. Since the 1996-97 season, it has occurred only three times in 21 years. Although the ACC was exceptionally deep this year, it was clearly an anomalous season for the Blue Devils.


Losing records:
1995 0-9 (1-10 overall)
1996 3-5 (4-7)
2003 3-5 (3-6)
2014 4-5 (4-5)
2017 3-6 (4-6)

Even records:
2005 4-4 (5-4)
2007 4-4 (5-4)
2009 4-4 (6-5)

Winning records:
1997 through 2002
2004
2006
2008
2010 through 2013
2015 and 2016

[ATSPENCE9]

Great insight from everyone. Thank you for the responses.

[COYS]

Duke was 3-6 on the road in the ACC in 2017 (4-6 overall) which was our worst ACC road record since our 0-9 (1-10 overall) road ACC record in our meltdown 1995 season under interim coach Pete Gaudet.

Although the focus in this thread is on "true road games," not just ACC road games, here is a rough summary of our ACC and overall road records since 1995. A losing road record is an atypical season for Duke. Since the 1996-97 season, it has occurred only three times in 21 years. Although the ACC was exceptionally deep this year, it was clearly an anomalous season for the Blue Devils.


Losing records:
1995 0-9 (1-10 overall)
1996 3-5 (4-7)
2003 3-5 (3-6)
2014 4-5 (4-5)
2017 3-6 (4-6)

Even records:
2005 4-4 (5-4)
2007 4-4 (5-4)
2009 4-4 (6-5)

Winning records:
1997 through 2002
2004
2006
2008
2010 through 2013
2015 and 2016


Thanks for this.

One could make a convincing argument that our road record this year had more to do with the timing of the games than anything else. @VaTech, @Louisville, and @FSU all came when our injury/suspension absences were just about at their worst. Those would have been three of our toughest road games, even if we were fully healthy. But losing key players at those moments made it extremely likely that Duke would have a tough road to haul to avoid a mediocre away-game record.

Also, our road record doesn't seem particularly predictive. For example, the 2012 Duke team went undefeated on the road, something only equaled by the '99 team in (somewhat) recent Duke history. But that team also dropped lots of home games, played poor defense, and lost in the first round of the NCAAT. Meanwhile, the 2010 team lost its two big out-of-conference match ups @Wisconsin and @Georgetown in addition to losing @GaTech and @Maryland in tight games and getting blown out by a bad NC State team in Raleigh. That same team managed to beat a very good Baylor team in a semi-away setting in the Elite Eight before defeating Butler who was playing a virtual home game for the national title.

To me, the argument for or against true road games has much less to do with preparing a team for a tough environment (Duke gets plenty of that in the ACC season and basically anytime it leaves campus save for the NYC-area) and more to do with the fun of home and home series. I with the schedule allowed for the occasional home and home with UK, KU, Zona, or UCLA. That would be super fun from the fan's perspective. But with tournaments like the Champions Classic virtually guaranteeing a few big-time opponents in the preseason and with the long ACC schedule, I'm resigned to the fact that we are unlikely to see those types of home and homes come back anytime soon

[Nugget]

To me, the argument for or against true road games has much less to do with preparing a team for a tough environment (Duke gets plenty of that in the ACC season and basically anytime it leaves campus save for the NYC-area) and more to do with the fun of home and home series. I with the schedule allowed for the occasional home and home with UK, KU, Zona, or UCLA. That would be super fun from the fan's perspective. But with tournaments like the Champions Classic virtually guaranteeing a few big-time opponents in the preseason and with the long ACC schedule, I'm resigned to the fact that we are unlikely to see those types of home and homes come back anytime soon

I've long been a proponent of the idea that we should have at least 1 high profile home and home series going like Coach K was doing it in the 80s and 90s, but like you are resigned to the fact he just isn't going to do it. And, I believe you are right that really the best reason for doing so is just that those games are more fun.

Beyond it being more "fun," the only substantive benefit I could see of an extra "true road" game in the pre-season is that it might make us slightly more ready for the beginning of the ACC. I haven't gone back to check (and, I'm sure it oversimplifies the causation), but I do "feel" like we've had a harder time in the first ACC road game of the year in the past decade with Coach K choosing not to play them in the pre-season than we did in the earlier time period. But, maybe I'm making that up.

The one other thing I would add that I completely reject as a reason for playing "neutral" site games is the notion that they are "better preparation" for the ACC and NCAA tournament than playing true road games. The "neutral site" games Duke plays in NY and elsewhere (other than the Champions Classic) are almost always virtual home games for Duke. Whereas, "neutral site" games in the NCAA tournament are almost always virtual road games for Duke.

[NSDukeFan]

I've long been a proponent of the idea that we should have at least 1 high profile home and home series going like Coach K was doing it in the 80s and 90s, but like you are resigned to the fact he just isn't going to do it. And, I believe you are right that really the best reason for doing so is just that those games are more fun.

Beyond it being more "fun," the only substantive benefit I could see of an extra "true road" game in the pre-season is that it might make us slightly more ready for the beginning of the ACC. I haven't gone back to check (and, I'm sure it oversimplifies the causation), but I do "feel" like we've had a harder time in the first ACC road game of the year in the past decade with Coach K choosing not to play them in the pre-season than we did in the earlier time period. But, maybe I'm making that up.

The one other thing I would add that I completely reject as a reason for playing "neutral" site games is the notion that they are "better preparation" for the ACC and NCAA tournament than playing true road games. The "neutral site" games Duke plays in NY and elsewhere (other than the Champions Classic) are almost always virtual home games for Duke. Whereas, "neutral site" games in the NCAA tournament are almost always virtual road games for Duke.
I agree with the fun and agree with the unscientific early road challenges during ACC play. It seems many years have a fretting period on the board where we wait to see if that year's team will learn how to win on the road and learn to win big games. Every team is different, so you never know, but this coach K guy always seems to get his team to pull out these big wins year after year. It sure is fun.

[UrinalCake]

I think I read that we are starting a home and home with St. John's. Not really a top team any more, but it's something. Although I don't know if they'll play in their true home arena or if the games will be in MSG, making it more of a neutral site.

As others have said, we played road games against the top 9 teams in the ACC this season. We had plenty of experience playing in hostile environments. And the unbalanced ACC schedule is always going to have us playing road games against the better teams, because it brings in more revenue.

Also, the ACC will soon be expanding their conference season to 20 games. I don't remember if it's this coming season or next. So with two fewer OOC games, it's even more unlikely that K will schedule a true road game. We need to have a handful of cupcake games at home to get the team acclimated, we have the B10/ACC Challenge game, and we'll have two neutral site games against big opponents in NY, NJ or Chicago which will bring in money and give the alumni base a chance to see the team.