One ACC Road Game That Could Trip Duke Basketball Up

The Duke Blue Devils now know all of their ACC opponents for the 2026-27 season and which programs they will face twice.

The ACC is playing an 18-game conference schedule for the second year in a row, with each team having a primary partner and a variable partner, which it will play both home and away. Each team’s primary partner doesn’t change, but its variable partner switches year to year.

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Duke’s primary partner is North Carolina, and its variable partner for the 2026-27 campaign is Virginia. Its variable partner last season was Louisville, which Duke beat both at Cameron Indoor Stadium and at the KFC Yum! Center.

Mar 26, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer stands on the court during a practice session ahead of the east regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The only ACC team Duke will not go up against next season is Virginia Tech.

Duke is looking to three-peat as ACC regular-season and Tournament champions, but there are several capable teams in the league, at least with how it currently looks on paper, that could dethrone it.

Aside from all of the obvious marquee games on the Blue Devils’ ACC slate for next season, let’s break down a more under-the-radar road contest that could trip them up if they’re not careful.

Duke Facing Syracuse on the Road Could Be a Challenge

Over the last few seasons, Syracuse has been far from the success its storied name would suggest. In 2025-26, the Orange went 15-17 overall and 6-12 in ACC action, leading to the firing of head coach Red Autry. Autry went 49-48 overall in three seasons as the head coach at Syracuse.

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The last time Syracuse made the NCAA Tournament was in 2021 as an 11-seed with Jim Boeheim still at the helm. It hasn’t been so smooth-sailing for the program over the last several seasons, but a new era could be forming with the Orange, and especially on the road, they could be a…

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Publish date : 2026-05-29 10:00:00

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