2016-17 MBB Schedule Speculation

[pfrduke]

My favorite off-season activity is schedule building. Here are a few knowns:

Duke is playing in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off against, well, a less than stellar field. It's a guarantee tournament, so all 4 host schools get to go to the Mohegan Sun. Duke's opening draw will be Penn State; Cincinnati vs. Rhode Island is the other side of the bracket. There are one or two campus site games before the trip to Uncasville - Duke will host from among Albany, Brown, Grand Canyon, and Marist (and maybe others).

Champions Classic is back in New York and Kansas is the draw this year.

ACC/B1G will renew, with Duke likely (although not certainly) on the road - Michigan State would be a good matchup, with a trip to Purdue a dark horse possibility.

[DallasDevil]

Duke is also scheduled to play UNLV on Dec. 10 at the MGM in Vegas: http://www.dukechronicle.com/blog/bl...na-in-december

Crossing my fingers that Coach K gives Matt Jones a senior game in Texas, but I suppose he could count last year's run through Houston as Matt's trip home.

[91devil]

My favorite off-season activity is schedule building. Here are a few knowns:

Duke is playing in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off against, well, a less than stellar field. It's a guarantee tournament, so all 4 host schools get to go to the Mohegan Sun. Duke's opening draw will be Penn State; Cincinnati vs. Rhode Island is the other side of the bracket. There are one or two campus site games before the trip to Uncasville - Duke will host from among Albany, Brown, Grand Canyon, and Marist (and maybe others).

Champions Classic is back in New York and Kansas is the draw this year.

ACC/B1G will renew, with Duke likely (although not certainly) on the road - Michigan State would be a good matchup, with a trip to Purdue a dark horse possibility.

If Maryland returns many of their key underclassmen (D.Stone, M.Trimble, R.Carter), I could see us heading to College Park. They might be Top 10-15 pre-season. Terps are due for a home game, we're due for a road game.

[Nugget]

Duke is playing in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off against, well, a less than stellar field. It's a guarantee tournament, so all 4 host schools get to go to the Mohegan Sun. Duke's opening draw will be Penn State; Cincinnati vs. Rhode Island is the other side of the bracket. There are one or two campus site games before the trip to Uncasville - Duke will host from among Albany, Brown, Grand Canyon, and Marist (and maybe others).

That is a very disappointing field for our early-season tournament. I'd much rather have a real challenge against a top field. With a team projected to be Top 5, we really should be in a tougher tournament, more like:

Maui: which includes not only North Carolina, but also likely Top 10s Oregon and Wisconsin, plus U. Conn and Georgetown; or

Battle 4 Atlantis: which has Michigan St., Louisville, Baylor, VCU, and Wichita St., among others; or even

Orlando: with Gonzaga, Florida, Iowa St., Seton Hall, Miami and Stanford.

Penn St. is a joke. And Cincy and Rhode Island will be fringe top 25-35 teams at best.

[CDu]

My favorite off-season activity is schedule building. Here are a few knowns:

Duke is playing in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off against, well, a less than stellar field. It's a guarantee tournament, so all 4 host schools get to go to the Mohegan Sun. Duke's opening draw will be Penn State; Cincinnati vs. Rhode Island is the other side of the bracket. There are one or two campus site games before the trip to Uncasville - Duke will host from among Albany, Brown, Grand Canyon, and Marist (and maybe others).

Champions Classic is back in New York and Kansas is the draw this year.

ACC/B1G will renew, with Duke likely (although not certainly) on the road - Michigan State would be a good matchup, with a trip to Purdue a dark horse possibility.

I don't think Michigan State will be very good next year. At least not early in the season. They lose their 3 best scorers, their two best rebounders, and their best playmaker. They do bring in a strong recruiting class, but I don't think it will make up for what they are losing.

I'm not sure that there is a "good" matchup for us in the ACC/Big-10 challenge next year. Michigan State, Maryland, and Purdue will likely be losing their best players. If I had to guess, I'd say that Purdue would be the most likely to give us a test. But as of now, our early season schedule looks like a bit of a joke aside from Kansas.

[luburch]

I don't think Michigan State will be very good next year. At least not early in the season. They lose their 3 best scorers, their two best rebounders, and their best playmaker. They do bring in a strong recruiting class, but I don't think it will make up for what they are losing.

I'm not sure that there is a "good" matchup for us in the ACC/Big-10 challenge next year. Michigan State, Maryland, and Purdue will likely be losing their best players. If I had to guess, I'd say that Purdue would be the most likely to give us a test. But as of now, our early season schedule looks like a bit of a joke aside from Kansas.

Run it back with Indiana at Assembly Hall? If Thomas Bryant and Troy Williams come back they should be pretty good.

[hurleyfor3]

And Cincy and Rhode Island will be fringe top 25-35 teams at best.

Precisely good enough to give us a scare and provide a sufficient supply of early-season consternation on the good ol' DBR tho.

@unlv should be fun.

[pfrduke]

Duke is also scheduled to play UNLV on Dec. 10 at the MGM in Vegas: http://www.dukechronicle.com/blog/bl...na-in-december

Crossing my fingers that Coach K gives Matt Jones a senior game in Texas, but I suppose he could count last year's run through Houston as Matt's trip home.

Well we can probably safely say that this will be the most games Duke has played at casinos in any season with two at the Mohegan Sun and one at the MGM.

[hurleyfor3]

Well we can probably safely say that this will be the most games Duke has played at casinos in any season with two at the Mohegan Sun and one at the MGM.

Battle 4 Atlantis is also three games

[HCheek37]

If K sets up something for Matt's senior season I bet it would be a neutral site game in Dallas or San Antonio...both sites for the 2018 tournament.

Also, as a reminder, here are our ACC matchups for next year - not the easiest as all 5 of our "road only" teams will be top half preseason ACC teams. We'll host UNC-CH in mid February and potentially host NC State or Wake for Matt's (and Amile's 2nd) Senior Night.

Duke 2016-17
Home/Road: North Carolina, Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami
Home: Georgia Tech, Clemson, NC State, Pitt, Boston College
Road: Virginia, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse, Notre Dame

[Olympic Fan]

Speculating about the ACC/Big Ten Challenge is fun ...

First thing to consider is that teams on the road one year are probably (but not definitely) at home the next year.

That means Duke probably goes on the road against Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Northwestern or Indiana. Michigan State had a home game last year, so they are (probably) out.

The second factor is the matchups that ESPN wants. It does not go strictly by preseason rankings, but ESPN does want power vs. power; middle-echelon vs. middle-echelon; and pasty vs. patsy.

From the teams getting home games, I would eliminate Northwestern -- both because of the K/Collins thing and because that would not be a matchup to attract ESPN (which ultimately decides the matchups). Any of the other four would be reasonable. ESPN has scheduled a lot of home-and-home rematches over the years, so Duke at Indiana would seem to be a strong possibility. I think the best matchup would be Duke at Wisconsin -- although that would be four Duke-Wiscy matchups in the challenge -- three at Wisconsin. Duke-Maryland might not be bad, but I know Coach K does not want that for a variety of reasons. we'll see how much behind-the-scenes clout he has.

If I had to guess, I'd bet to Duke at Indiana.

Duke will also meet a top opponent in Madison Square Garden just before Christmas again ... no clue who that will be.

Personally, I'd like to see Duke renew it6s series with Davidson -- we haven't played them since 2013-14. I wouldn't mind facing them in the Charlotte arena.

It is shaping up to be a pretty lame non-conference home schedule.

But the ACC schedule breaks down to:

Home -- UNC, NC State, Wake Forest, Miami, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Clemson, FSU, BC

Road -- UNC, FSU, Louisville, Virginia, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Miami, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

[AustinDevil]

If K sets up something for Matt's senior season I bet it would be a neutral site game in Dallas or San Antonio...both sites for the 2018 tournament.

Speaking for those of us in Texas, yes to a Singler-esque game in Texas for Matt. But FYI San Antonio is further from Matt's hometown in the Dallas suburbs than Washington, DC is from Durham.

I vote for neutral site at American Airlines Center in Dallas versus Larry Brown and SMU. I will freely admit I am biased by the five SMU grads among my family, but it would be a fantastic atmosphere.

[Troublemaker]

Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein 1h1 hour ago
Duke will play Florida and Arizona State will face Purdue in the 2016 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, sources told @CBSSports.


It should be noted that the Jimmy V Classic is not a tournament, but a one-off game. For example, this season UVA beat WVU and then went home instead of playing the winner of the other game.

Also, getting experience in MSG is arguably important since the 2017 East Regional will be played in MSG.

Our preferred path to the title next season should be Greensboro --> MSG --> Glendale (site of the Final Four)

[HCheek37]

Duke will also meet a top opponent in Madison Square Garden just before Christmas again ... no clue who that will be.

Florida as confirmed by ESPN.

Confirmed Games
11/15 - Kansas - NY, NY
12/6 - Florida - NY, NY
12/10 - UNLV - Las Vegas, Nevada

Dates not set but confirmed participation
11/10-13 - Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic Campus Round Games - Durham, NC (one will be against Dan Majerle and Grand Canyon - http://arizonasports.com/story/51142...d-canyon-2016/)
11/18-20 - Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic Semifinal and Final - Uncasville, CT (semifinal versus Penn State, title game/consolation game against the winner/loser of Purdue vs Arizona State and Hurley)
11/28-30 - ACC/B1G Challenge - TBD

Possible Games
Late December - ACC/Atlantic 10 Doubleheader - Brooklyn, NY - I doubt we would participate this year, especially with 2 trips already set for NYC
Non Conference - Game in Texas for Matt's Senior season

[CDu]

Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein 1h1 hour ago
Duke will play Florida and Arizona State will face Purdue in the 2016 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, sources told @CBSSports.


It should be noted that the Jimmy V Classic is not a tournament, but a one-off game. For example, this season UVA beat WVU and then went home instead of playing the winner of the other game.

Also, getting experience in MSG is arguably important since the 2017 East Regional will be played in MSG.

Our preferred path to the title next season should be Greensboro --> MSG --> Glendale (site of the Final Four)

That helps the schedule ALOT. It probably strengthens Olympic Fan's prediction of Duke at Indiana.

[gumbomoop]

Hope we schedule UNCW.

[SCMatt33]

So I'm going to doubt that there is a game in Texas for Matt and that the Houston Regional will count. Amile was not scheduled a regular season game in Philly this year as they had played there in the 2013 NCAA tourney. As for the distance with Houston instead of Dallas, I believe that Kyle's homecoming in Portland was pretty far from his home in Medford.

[DallasDevil]

So I'm going to doubt that there is a game in Texas for Matt and that the Houston Regional will count. Amile was not scheduled a regular season game in Philly this year as they had played there in the 2013 NCAA tourney. As for the distance with Houston instead of Dallas, I believe that Kyle's homecoming in Portland was pretty far from his home in Medford.

My hunch is you're correct about this. But since I hope you're not correct about this, I would point out in addition to the 2013 tourney in Philly, we play in Amile's home state on a regular basis against conference foe Pitt, have annual games in NYC which is closer to Amile's home than Houston is to Matt's, as well as the conference tournament in D.C. But my understanding of Coach K's informal practice is that if a player has not played somewhere in his home state prior to his senior year, then he'll schedule a (usually) neutral site game somewhere in the player's home state for their senior year. If that's correct, then he could very well not worry about setting something up for Matt. Of course, if he does, there's the added benefit of telling Bolden he'll get to play a game back home if he comes to Duke...

[Olympic Fan]

The complete schedule for the Tipoff Classic was released this morning.

It fills in a few details for Duke. The Blue Devils will face Grand Canyon in the first round Nov. 11 in Cameron ... that's almost certainly our opener.

Then Duke meets Albany in the second round, Nov. 12 (also at Cameron).

Win or lose those two games, Duke goes to Uncasville, Conn, for what's called the Naismith Round, where they face Penn State on Nov. 19.

The winner will face the winner of Cincinnati-Rhode Island on Nov. 20 (or, if Duke were to lose vs. PSU, the loser of that game).

The schedule:

Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament Schedule

Campus Round Schedule

November 11

Grand Canyon University @ Duke University

Marist College @ Penn State

Brown University @ University of Cincinnati

November 12

University at Albany @ Duke University

November 14

University at Albany @ University of Cincinnati

Marist College @ University of Rhode Island

November 15

Grand Canyon University @ Penn State

November 16

Brown University @ University of Rhode Island

Saturday, November 19 at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT

Naismith Bracket

Duke University vs. Penn State

University of Cincinnati vs. University of Rhode Island

Sunday, November 20 at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT

Naismith Bracket
Consolation Game
Championship Game

[pfrduke]

So the updated non-conference schedule so far:

11/11 - Grand Canyon, Cameron
11/12 - Albany, Cameron
11/15 - Kansas, MSG
11/19 - Penn St, Mohegan Sun
11/20 - Cincinnati/Rhode Island, Mohegan Sun
11/29/30 - ACC/B1G TBD
12/6 - Florida, MSG
12/10 - UNLV, MGM Grand

Five non-conference games left to be filled in. Assume 1-2 the week of Thanksgiving and then 3-4 in the latter half of December, likely all to be at home (although we could play @UNCG to get a game at the Greensboro Coliseum, which we've done before in years that it's an NCAA host site*)

*assuming it continues to be an NCAA host site