BDB Top 10 Duke Basketball Games of the 2022 - 2023 Season

We are just over a month left till the start of the 2022 - 2023 Duke Basketball season with Countdown to Craziness set to take place on Friday October 21st at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Check out our video and article below for BDB Top 10 Duke Basketball games of the 2022 - 2023 season.

Last season Duke Basketball finished with a 32 - 7 record finishing the season with another Final Four run for Coach K's last ride as the head coach. Coach Mike Krzyzewski had an amazing coaching career at Duke coaching 42 seasons with 5 national championships, 13 Final Fours and 1,202 wins in that time frame.

The 2022 - 2023 college basketball season will bring in a new era for Duke Basketball as Jon Scheyer will begin his first season as the new head coach for Duke Basketball.

The 2022 - 2023 Duke Basketball schedule was released this past Tuesday. After looking at the schedule, one thing is for sure, this team will again be battle tested for March Madness.

With that said, here is my list of the Top 10 Duke Basketball games I am looking forward to this season in order of when they play:

#1 - vs Jacksonville 11/7/22 at Cameron Indoor Stadium - Durham, NC

You may be wondering why is Jacksonville in my Top 10 games I am looking forward to. Here's why. Although Duke will play a preseason game before this (vs Fayetteville State in Cameron), the game vs Jacksonville will be coach Jon Scheyer's first official game as the new head coach of Duke Basketball. I believe Cameron will be rocking on this Monday as the Cameron Crazies and fans welcome in the new era of Duke Basketball under coach Jon Scheyer.

#2 - vs Kansas 11/15/22 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, IN

Duke will play Kansas this season in the Champions Classic. The Champions Classic has always made my top 10 list. Duke vs Kansas is a Blue Bloods battle that will have even more hype this season as Kansas is the defending national champions after beating North Carolina in the 2022 NCAA Tournament championship game. It will be a game fans, NBA scouts, and people everywhere tune in to watch. Kansas has two wins over Duke in the Champions Classic from 2013 and 2016. Duke won the last matchup against Kansas in the Champions Classic in 2019 by a score of 68 - 66. Duke has the best record over the years of the Champions Classic at 7-4 followed by Kansas at 6-5.

#3 - vs either Gonzaga, Purdue, West Virginia, or Portland State 11/27/22 - Phil Knight Legacy - Portland, OR

If Duke can win its first two games in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament, they could play in the championship game on Sunday. If they lose (depending on how many losses in the first 2 games) they would play in the 3rd place, 5th place, or 7th place game. Looking at the bracket, fans of college basketball would be excited to see a potential Duke vs Gonzaga championship game. Duke won an epic battle against Gonzaga last season on Black Friday of Thanksgiving week in a neutral site game in Las Vegas. There is also the possibility of Duke vs Purdue. Purdue finished last season as a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to upset minded Cinderella team Saint Peter's in the Sweet 16 round. The Phil Knight Legacy Tournament has an exciting lineup of teams with some potential big games.

#4 - vs Ohio State 11/30/22 - ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Cameron Indoor Stadium - Durham, NC

Duke will play Ohio State in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the 2022 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Duke lost to Ohio State last season in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Columbus, OH. Duke was up by 13 points at halftime but went ice cold the last 5:19 of the second half as Ohio State finished the game on a 12-0 run and won 71 - 66. Ohio State was also a #7 seed in NCAA Tournament last season. Duke will be looking for revenge in Cameron Indoor Stadium this season as these two teams will meet again.

#5 - vs Iowa 12/6/22 - Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden - New York, NY

Duke will play Iowa in Cameron Indoor North... I mean Madison Square Garden. The Duke fanbase is always well represented at MSG when they play games there. Duke has not lost in their three previous appearances in the Jimmy V Classic beating Kentucky in 1998 and 2001 and Florida in 2016. Iowa was a #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big Ten conference tournament last season. Iowa then lost to Richmond in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Duke has won seven of the last eights games in this series with Iowa but the teams have not met since 2001.

#6 - vs Pittsburgh 1/11/23 - Cameron Indoor Stadium - Durham, NC

Pittsburgh Panthers will travel to Durham to play the Blue Devils on 1/11/23. This game easily makes my Top Ten Duke Basketball games list as it will be a battle between two former Duke players who were also Duke assistant coaches under Coach K. Jon Scheyer will be in his first season coaching Duke and Jeff Capel will be in his fifth season coaching Pittsburgh. Both Jon and Jeff had amazing playing careers at Duke as well as assisted Coach K on the sidelines.

#7 - vs Virginia Tech 1/23/23 - Cassell Coliseum - Blacksburg, VA

Mike Young led the Hokies to their first ACC Tournament championship last season by beating Duke in the ACC Tournament championship game by a score of 82-67. The Hokies became the second ACC team ever to win four games in four days to win the ACC Tournament. Duke first accomplished this feat of winning four games in four days during the 2017 ACC Tournament. Road games in Blacksburg have at times been a challenge for previous Duke teams. The Virginia Tech fanbase always seems to bring the football atmosphere inside Cassell Coliseum when Duke comes to town. I expect to hear "Enter Sandman" cranking up on the speakers as Virginia Tech gets ready for a match-up with the Blue Devils.

#8 - vs North Carolina 2/4/23 - Cameron Indoor Stadium - Durham, NC

This rivalry needs no introduction. Both teams made the Final Four last season. The Tarheels will travel eight miles down the road to play in front of a rowdy group of Cameron Crazies who will have finished camping out in Krzyzewskiville for weeks just to get into the game that is the biggest rivalry in sports. This will also be coach Jon Scheyer's first game coaching in the rivalry as the head coach of Duke Basketball. Duke fans have not forgot about last season's home loss to North Carolina in Cameron by a score of 94-81. One would think revenge will be on the mind of the Cameron Crazies and Duke fans as I expect this game (as usual) to be another intense game in the rivalry.

#9 - vs Virginia 2/11/23 - John Paul Jones Arena - Charlottesville, VA

There have been some epic battles between Duke and Virginia over the years at John Paul Jones Arena and Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke fans still remember the 2015 match-up at John Paul Jones Arena when Duke ended Virginia's undefeated streak on the road at JPJ when Tyus "Stones" Jones knocked down a three-pointer in the final seconds to steal the win. Another classic game was at Cameron Indoor Stadium on 2/13/16 when Grayson Allen drove to the rim in the final seconds floating in the buzzer beater over Virginia as Cameron Indoor Stadium erupted.

(Check out the video below to see my viewpoint from that epic game)

And another classic was on 2/9/19 at JPJ when Zion Williamson made a jaw dropping block on Virginia's De'Andre Hunter that sent the ball into the crowd. To this day I still question if the ball from that Zion blocked shot didn't somehow end up in downtown Charlottesville.

Last season Duke and Virginia split the home and away series with Virginia winning at Cameron Indoor Stadium in a close battle on 2/7/22 and then Duke winning at John Paul Jones in another hard fought battle on 2/23/22.

This season Duke travels to JPJ in February in the only regular season game against Virginia. Looking back at past battles over the years between these two teams, this game has the potential to be yet another blockbuster.

#10 - vs North Carolina 3/4/23 - Dean Dome - Chapel Hill, NC

Duke will close out the regular season schedule with a road trip eight miles down the road to take on North Carolina on 3/4/23. One would think with it being "The Rivalry" and both teams making the Final Four last season, that ESPN will once again bring its crew to do a live taping of ESPN College GameDay at the Dean Dome. Last season Duke beat North Carolina on their court by a score of 87-67 to close out Coach K's last game in the Dean Dome. As usually expected, this game could also have an impact on ACC and NCAA Tournament seeding.

Duke will play 11 games (possibly 12 games with a possible matchup against Gonzaga or Purdue in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament if the bracket shakes out that way) out of its 31 regular season games against NCAA Tournament teams from last season.

Duke will play 3 games against teams from the Final Four last year. A home and away with North Carolina and a neutral court game with NCAA Tournament champion Kansas

These are the 10 games I’m most looking forward to this season. When March Madness comes around, Duke will once again be battle tested and ready.

Did I miss a top game? What game (or games) are you most looking forward to? Reply in the blog and let us know or reach out on Twitter @DukeReport and @Skeelow22 to let us know your top Duke Basketball games you are looking forward to.