Brutal Duke basketball schedule beginning to take shape

The Blue Devils' non-conference slate will be no joke.

Duke basketball (Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)

On Friday, the 2022-23 Duke basketball schedule received one more piece of intel: a Dec. 6 showdown against Iowa at the Jimmy V Classic in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

The Hawkeyes are not a projected top 25 team, at least not in the latest rankings from ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello. But they have been a part of the final AP Poll the past three seasons.

Sticking with talk of rankings and Duke's daunting schedule in the making, Borzello slots UNC to begin at No. 1 in the country. As always, the Blue Devils, No. 9 in Borzello's eyes despite losing the bulk of their Final Four cast, will take on their rival Tar Heels twice in the regular season (full ACC schedule not yet available).

Other Duke basketball schedule news

UNC is not the only program from the 2022 Final Four that Duke will see next season. No, on Nov. 15 at the Champions Classic in Indianapolis, the Blue Devils will square off against defending national champ Kansas (No. 10 in Borzello's early rankings).

From what has popped up so far via various announcements, Duke's calendar also includes dates in Durham against two of the Atlantic Sun's top programs. Jacksonville arrives on Nov. 7 as the first foe in Jon Scheyer's first season as Blue Devil head coach. Then Bellarmine will be in Cameron Indoor Stadium two weeks later on Nov. 21.

Three days after that is the Blue Devils' inclusion in the Nov. 24-27 Phil Knight Legacy Bracket in Portland, Ore., where they will face three of the other seven teams in the relatively strong field: Florida, Gonzaga (No. 6, per Borzello), Oregon State, Portland State, Purdue, West Virginia, and Xavier.

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That's not to mention Duke's ACC-Big Ten Challenge matchup (date and opponent not yet available).

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