The Duke Blue Devils have one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country this upcoming college basketball season, and people around the country are taking notice.
College basketball analyst Andy Katz released his ranking of the top 10 non-conference games for 2024-25 on Thursday, and Duke’s game against the Kansas Jayhawks took the top spot.
Thanks to top-ranked freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], Olympian 7-footer [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], and offseason darling [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag], Duke’s stellar freshman class has the Blue Devils among the early favorites for the national championship. The Jayhawks, however, might be one of the only teams with better preseason odds as Kansas starts the year as the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Despite their 23-11 record and a second-round NCAA Tournament exit in 2023-24, the Jayhawks reloaded with Alabama Crimson Tide guard Rylan Griffen and Wisconsin Badgers guard AJ Storr from the transfer portal. With that duo paired with 7-footer Hunter Dickinson, who joined Flagg on the preseason AP All-America team, Kansas looks like a juggernaut.
The two powerhouse programs meet in Las Vegas on November 26.
The Blue Devils’ December 4 game against the Auburn Tigers, a part of the ACC/SEC Challenge, came in ninth on Katz’s list and their February battle with the Illinois Fighting Illini at Madison Square Garden finished out the list at tenth.
Can’t-miss matchups 🍿@TheAndyKatz ranks the top 🔟 non-conference matchups to tune into this season 📺 pic.twitter.com/vMgq8557kS
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) October 24, 2024
Auburn starts the year 11th in the coaches poll while Illinois will start the season as the No. 24 team.