College Basketball
Duke’s Non Conference Schedule Predictions: Part Three
The Opponents
This portion of the Duke’s non conference schedule is relatively easygoing. The Blue Devils hosts Hartford on December 5th in Cameron, Duke then follows up matchup with the Hawks with a pair of Ivy League Opponents. They then host Yale on the 8th of December prior to a 10 day span with no games. After the long wait, Duke hosts Princeton on December 18th.
Hartford
The Hawks of Hartford went 19-14 this past season, making the College Insider Tournament. They only have two seniors who contributed a year ago coming into this year and neither of them, Jack Hobbs or Hassan Attia, will be looked at as Hartfords leading contributor. Returning junior, Jason Dunne, will likely be the teams best player. He is coming off of a stellar sophomore campaign, scoring in double figures and will likely increase that number this coming year. Despite having half of their roster consisting of upperclassmen, they will struggle mightily to a Duke team who at this point has played 6 games.
Prediction:
Duke: 94
Hartford: 56
Yale
A team Duke has had two games with since 2015, the Yale Bulldogs return their best player, a first team all Ivy selection in Miye Oni. Alongside Oni, Yale has their lone captain in senior Blake Reynolds. If their two best players can improve on a season in which they both scored in double figures, the Bulldogs can likely contend in the Ive League. Early on, they’ll likely keep it close but they’re not strong enough to compete with a Duke team of this caliber.
Prediction:
Duke: 88
Yale: 68
Princeton
The Princeton Tigers went 13-16 a year ago, but the future is extremely bright for the upcoming season. They have two returning players who averaged double figures a season ago in juniors Myles Stephens and Devin Cannady. A dynamic duo, when these two guys are on the floor and playing their best, they can play with the best of teams. Though they have a dominant one-two punch, they will not be able to beat Duke. It’ll be closer than people think, but I predict Duke pulls away in the last ten minutes of the second half.
Prediction:
Duke: 82
Princeton: 69
Photo credit to KU Alumni Association via Flickr
