Duke Basketball's Record Vs. the AAC

Blue Devils have dominated the American conference

Duke is scheduled to participate in this year’s Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, pandemic permitting, of course.

Also in the field at Atlantis this year will be Memphis and Wichita State. That makes it likely that the Blue Devils will add to their history against teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) during the Thanksgiving event.

Duke has a dominant 62-17 record against the AAC, last playing a conference member in an extremely close call in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Here’s a look at the Blue Devils’ full history against the American.

Two of the 12 teams in the AAC have never played Duke: Wichita State, who could meet the Blue Devils in the Bahamas, and Houston.

The Blue Devils are undefeated against five teams in the conference.

The most one-sided series is against in-state foe East Carolina. The Pirates have met the Blue Devils 21 times, all at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and lost each of them. The most recent game came in November, 2013, a nine-point Duke win that was the closest game between the two since 1982.

The Blue Devils are 3-0 against Tulsa, with the most recent win coming at Cameron in February, 2010, a 70-52 Duke romp.

Duke is also 3-0 against South Florida, last beating USF in 1983.

Duke is 1-0 against a pair of AAC teams. That includes potential Atlantis foe Memphis, who lost to Duke in the preseason NIT in 2005. Duke also won its only meeting against Central Florida, just barely surviving Johnny Dawkins’ UCF squad when a potential buzzer beater rolled off the rim in the 2019 tournament.

Duke also has a winning record against the remaining five AAC teams, although some of the series have a close margin.

Duke is 2-1 against Cincinnati, although the Bearcats won the last meeting, at the Great Alaska Shootout in 1998. Duke’s last win in the series came in 1989.

The Blue Devils are also 2-1 against Tulane, although the teams have never met since Coach K has been at Duke. Duke won in 1979 to pull ahead in the series in the most recent game.

Duke is 6-4 against UConn, including some losses that stick in the minds of Duke fans everywhere. The Blue Devils have won the last two meetings, in 2014 and 2009, but fans are more likely to remember the Final Four losses to the Huskies in the 2004 national semifinals and the 1999 title game. Christian Laettner also hit his first Final Four clinching buzzer beater against the Huskies in 1990.

The Blue Devils have a 3-1 mark against SMU. Their last game came in arch-rival UNC’s Dean Smith Center, where Duke beat the Mustangs to advance to the 1988 Sweet 16.

Duke’s longest AAC history comes against Temple. The Blue Devils are 20-10 against the Owls in a series dating back to 1931. Duke has won two straight, most recently in 2014.

Stay tuned in upcoming days as we continue to track Duke’s football and basketball history against each Division I conference. If you’ve missed any so far, here’s a look at Duke against the other conferences.

Football

Duke’s record vs. the Big 12 7-4

Duke’s record vs. the Pac-12 3-10-1

Duke’s record vs. Sun Belt 2-0

Duke’s record vs. Independents 16-15-1

Duke’s record vs. the AAC 28-30-5

Basketball

Duke basketball vs. the Big 12 40-13

Duke basketball vs. the Pac-12 34-22