Duke head coach Jon Scheyer talks with Kyle Filipowski (30) during the second half of Duke’s 81-72 victory over Ohio State at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022.
ehyman@newsobserver.com
Durham
An unforgiving early schedule has Duke basketball playing 11 games in the season’s first 30 days.
Nine games into that stretch, the No. 17 Blue Devils are among many teams around the country not able to devote large portions of practice time to improving areas of concern that inevitably pop up during all those games.
This week, for example, the Blue Devils had Monday off after traveling home from a 75-56 loss to Purdue in Portland, Oregon. That loss ended a stretch of four games in seven days.
They practiced Tuesday and beat Ohio State, 81-72, on Wednesday night.
The team had a day off on Thursday before practicing Friday in advance of Saturday’s ACC opener against Boston College at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Next, Duke will prepare for Tuesday night’s game with Iowa at New York’s Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic.
“I’ll tell you, I’ve been here a decade now as a coach and this is probably the most unusual couple of weeks with just the way the schedule is worked,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said Friday. “But that’s how it goes sometimes. The main thing today, obviously, is prep for BC. We know it’s a great challenge. But every day we have to do something for us, whether it’s adding something new or we’re improving in certain areas. We have too much room to grow. Can’t take a step back. Can’t stay the same.”
After playing Iowa on Tuesday night, Duke will play just one game over the next 14 days as the players take final exams. Devoting practice time to shoring things up internally could come during that stretch.
Saturday’s Boston College game is the first of three ACC games the Blue Devils will play before the calendar moves to 2023. Duke also plays at Wake Forest on Dec. 20 before playing Florida State at home on Dec. 31.
Tipoff time + TV channel for Saturday’s game
The game will start at 4 p.m. on Saturday and will air on ACC Network, which is available on major cable and satellite services, like Spectrum, Dish Network and DirecTV.
How to stream Duke vs Boston College game online
Are you a cord-cutter?
If your preferred method of watching games involves streaming, there are options for that, too.
ACC Network is available on Sling, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and YouTubeTV streaming services.
Game day details: Duke vs. Boston College
Teams: Duke Blue Devils vs Boston College Eagles
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
Date: Saturday, Dec. 3
Time: 4 p.m.
TV: ACC Network
Betting line: Duke is a 17-point favorite and the over-under total is 129.5 points.
Series history: This is the 30th meeting all time between Duke and Boston College with the Blue Devils holding a commanding 26-3 lead. Duke has won six in a row over Boston College and has only lost to the Eagles twice since they entered the ACC for the 2005-06 basketball season.
Pregame reading
Steve Wiseman has covered Duke athletics since 2010 for the Durham Herald-Sun and Raleigh News & Observer. He placed second in both beat writing and breaking news in the 2019 Associated Press Sports Editors national contest. Previously, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989.