The Duke Blue Devils decisively defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 103-64 in an exhibition game held at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night. The game featured two preseason Top 10 teams, but Duke quickly established control with a 29-6 run, making it clear that it would not be a competitive matchup.
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Freshman Deron Rippey led Duke's scoring with 21 points, supported by John Blackwell with 18, Dame Sarr with 15, Patrick Ngongba with 13, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje with 11, and Sebastian Wilkins also contributing 11 points. This victory marks Duke’s second win in their exhibition lineup ahead of the regular season. They will face Kansas on the road next Sunday.
Senior guard Caleb Foster, who missed the first two exhibition games due to injury, is nearing a return. Head coach Jon Scheyer mentioned that Foster has been actively seeking to play against Kansas and will definitely be back for the regular-season opener against Army on November 2nd. Despite Foster's absence, the backcourt of Rippey and Blackwell has proven effective, and Foster's addition is expected to enhance what is already considered one of the best backcourts in the country.
Both the men's and women's basketball teams at Duke are entering the season highly ranked. The men's team is positioned at No. 2 in the preseason AP Poll, following No. 1 Florida. The women’s team, led by coach Kara Lawson, is ranked No. 4, behind South Carolina, UConn, and USC. The women’s season begins on November 3rd against Green Bay, and they will face tough non-conference opponents including No. 1 South Carolina and No. 2 UConn.
In the NBA, Duke continues to have a strong presence with 26 former players on opening-day rosters, tying them with Kentucky for the most of any program. These players are distributed across 18 out of 30 NBA teams, with the Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, and Phoenix Suns each featuring three former Duke players.