Duke Scrimmages Belmont at Cameron on Thursday

Thursday, October 8

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Belmont

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Blue vs. White Scrimmage from 2026 Countdown to Craziness

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Scrimmages Belmont at Cameron on Thursday

10/7/2026 7:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Opening Tip

Jon Scheyer begins his fifth season as head coach of the Blue Devils and his 14th season on the Duke coaching staff.
Chris Edwards and former Blue Devil Ryan Kelly will call the action on ACC Network Extra. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
Scheyer's 124 wins and 25 victories over AP-ranked opponents are the most by a Division I coach in their first four seasons.
The Blue Devils have won 32 consecutive home games, including 19 straight against conference opponents, while posting a 63-3 (.955) home record under Scheyer.
In 2025-26, the Blue Devils made the program's 26th Elite Eight appearance, captured Duke's 24th ACC Tournament title, claimed the conference regular-season championship for the 22nd time and achieved a 35-win season for the second straight season with an overall record of 35-3.
The win total of the last two seasons (70) is the best two-year stretch in Duke history, exceeding the 69 victories posted from the 1997-98 (32) and 1998-99 (37) campaigns.
Duke is the only program in the country with 70 wins in the last two seasons.
Only Duke has advanced to the Elite Eight in each of the last three years with a Final Four appearance.
Duke secured 13 top-25 victories in the 2025-26 campaign, including the most in the regular season (11) in ACC history and tied for the most in a regular season in AP poll history.
Duke was the only team ranked in the top-five nationally in both offensive efficiency (122.0, 5th) and defensive efficiency (95.4, 2nd) ratings in 2025-26. (KenPom)
The Blue Devils' 2026-27 non-conference schedule includes six opponents that were at least a No. 5 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament and ranked in the top 25 of the final Associated Press poll, with matchups against Michigan State (Nov. 10), Illinois (Nov. 17), Connecticut (Nov. 25), Florida (Dec. 1), Texas Tech (Dec. 21) and Gonzaga (Feb. 20).
Duke returns four of last season's top six scorers: Patrick Ngongba, Caleb Foster, Cayden Boozer and Dame Sarr, who combined for 141 games played, 99 starts, 1,131 points, 533 rebounds and 311 assists in 2025-26.

The 2026-27 Blue Devils

Six players return: Letterwinners Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II and Dame Sarr are joined by Sebastian Wilkins and Brock Davis.
Four of last season's top six scorers are back: Boozer, Foster, Ngongba and Sarr combined for 141 games, 99 starts, 1,131 points, 533 rebounds and 311 assists in 2025-26. Duke's top two scorers from a year ago, Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans, were selected in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Nine newcomers: Transfers John Blackwell, Drew Scharnowski and Jacob Theodosiou join freshmen Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Bryson Howard, Maxime Meyer, Deron Rippey Jr., Cameron Williams and Nick Arnold.
Six tests against 2026 NCAA top-five seeds: Michigan State (Nov. 10), Illinois (Nov. 17), Connecticut (Nov. 25), Florida (Dec. 1), Texas Tech (Dec. 21) and Gonzaga (Feb. 20) also finished in the final AP top 25. Seven of Duke's 14 nonconference games are away from Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Recent Run

70-7 across two seasons: Duke went 35-4 in 2024-25 and 35-3 in 2025-26, winning 90.9 percent of its games. The Blue Devils went 36-2 in ACC play, a 94.7 percent winning percentage. Duke is the nation's only program with 70 wins over that span.
A Duke record: The 70 victories surpassed the program's previous two-season high of 69, set in 1997-98 and 1998-99. These are Duke's first consecutive 35-win seasons.
Three straight Elite Eights: Duke reached the regional finals in 2024, 2025 and 2026, including a Final Four trip in 2025. Tennessee also reached all three Elite Eights; Duke is the only one of the two with a Final Four appearance in that span.
32 weeks in the AP top five over the past two seasons, including six weeks at No. 1. Duke finished No. 3 in the 2024-25 final poll and No. 4 in 2025-26.

Jon Scheyer Entering Year Five

124 victories in four seasons: The most by a Division I men's basketball head coach through his first four seasons. Jon Scheyer has led Duke to three ACC Tournament titles, two ACC regular-season titles, three Elite Eights and the 2025 Final Four.
2026 NABC Division I Coach of the Year: Scheyer led Duke to a 35-3 record, a 17-1 ACC mark and the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed in 2025-26. His 25 wins over AP-ranked opponents through four seasons also lead Division I.

The Belmont Bruins

Belmont is under the direction of first-year head coach Evan Bradds, who served as an assistant coach with the 2025-26 Duke Blue Devils.
Bradds returns to his alma mater, where he stands as Belmont's NCAA Division I era all-time leading scorer with 1,921 points.
Belmont returns six players who were part of the Bruins' 2026 Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship team, including veterans Isaiah West, Jabez Jenkins, Eoin Dillon, Cooper Haynes, Jack Smiley, and Graydon Lemke.
Belmont went 26-6 last season and were ranked Top 50 nationally in 11 statistical categories in 2025-26, including first in effective field goal percentage.
The Bruins enter their fifth season as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
This marks the third meeting between Belmont and Duke.
Duke defeated Belmont, 71-70, in the 2008 NCAA Tournament in Washington, D.C. Gerald Henderson scored the game-winning basket with 11 seconds left. Duke head coach Jon Scheyer scored 13 points as a sophomore guard for the Blue Devils.
As part of the 2011 Maui Invitational, Duke defeated Belmont, 77-76, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. A late 3-pointer from Andre Dawkins proved to be the difference.