Duke Basketball's ACC Schedule Is BRUTAL + NBA Stars Return to Cameron!

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

This is the Locked On Podcast Network, celebrating 10 years of your team every day.

Isaac Shade (0:10)

Hi, this is Isaac Shade, host of Locked On College Basketball and Locked On Tar Heels. Today's episode is brought to you by ADT. Imagine you're watching the game at a buddy's house when you get a call that someone tried to break into yours. In a second, everything can change. That's why there's ADT. ADT security systems help keep your home safe 24-7, with the most company-operated monitoring centers in the industry. The ADT Plus app keeps you in control the whole time. Don't leave your home wide open during an emergency. When every second counts, count on ADT. Visit adt.com or call 1-800-ADT-ASAP.

JJ Jackson (0:47)

Duke basketball officially knows the road. It will have to travel to another ACC championship, and that road gets nasty late in the season.

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You are Locked On Blue Devils, your daily podcast on the Duke Blue Devils. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

JJ Jackson (1:12)

Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of the Locked On Blue Devils podcast. My name is JJ Jackson. So great to have you here with us today on this Monday, September 14th, 2026 Locked On Blue Devils is your one stop shop where we discuss everything going on inside the life of Duke Athletics on today's show. Excited to break down Duke Basketball's ACC schedule with you guys, what it means in the Blue Devils pursuit for another conference title. And also, how about Pro Devils Weekend that came and went? The content we got from Duke, unbelievable, as these players that formerly played for Duke came back, spent a weekend with the current team, and it really reminded the world what the brotherhood truly, truly means. So, excited to have this show today with Raul Clement from the Devils Den Podcast. Again, be sure that you subscribe to us for free wherever it is, that you get your podcast, subscribe to Locked On Blue Devils on YouTube as well. Here is Raul, hanging out with us today. I hope you're doing well. The calendar has turned to September. We're less than a month away from countdown to craziness in some of these exhibition games. Like, basketball is almost here, Raul.

Raul Clement (2:19)

Yeah, I mean, it really feels like it's ramping up.

You know, all summer, we've been struggling for content and things to talk about. And now we've got the full schedule. So that's a big thing there. And then, of course, we had the alumni weekend. And then, like you said, less than a month away for when we get countdown to craziness pretty early this year to October 3rd.

JJ Jackson (2:37)

Yeah, it's crazy how quickly it'll be here and we'll be able to really have some takes on this team. And those takes aren't going to change by much as to what they've been this entire off season. So much excitement for the roster building that John Shire did. The schedule loaded once again in the non-conference. And we've known what the ACC schedule looked like. We knew what matchups were going to be there on paper for Duke. We knew that they would get that meeting with Miami finally after not having the Hurricanes at all on their schedule this past season. We know that Duke will not play a single game against Virginia Tech this upcoming year. No Blue Devils and Hokies crossover. But what we now know is the order in which these games will be played, Raul. Loaded in the back half. All in all though, it's a Duke team that has dominated the conference over the last couple of seasons. And we're just simply asking, can Duke survive the league once again?

Raul Clement (3:34)

I think the ACC is definitely going to be improved this year. So I wouldn't necessarily expect Duke to only drop one game. But I still think Duke should be considered the favorites to win the league.

The ACC schedule, the way it's shaking out is pretty interesting. I actually like it because with that loaded non-conference, I think it's nice to have a little bit of a softer January for the guys to recoup and get back in rhythm. And then we really ramp up for the end of the year.

JJ Jackson (4:01)

Yeah. Looking at the schedule, Duke's first game in conference play is going to be December 30th against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. So Duke opens up ACC play on the road. This will be immediately after facing Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on December 21st. So a nine-day layoff. Of course, the holidays are mixed in there with Christmas coming on the 25th. And so for Duke to open up late December, and that's the same across the board, that caught me by surprise a bit. Eighteen games in the schedule again, not 20 that we saw a couple of seasons ago. But over the last five or six years, Raul, ACC play has started in early December with a single game. And then you kind of jump back into more non-conference games. So this flips back to a more traditional sense, where why are you necessarily mixing a handful of non-conference games before you've even gotten to the holiday breaks and that sort of thing. So first game on the road and first game is at the end of December.