No. 9 Duke opens its 116th season of basketball on Saturday by welcoming Coppin State to Cameron Indoor Stadium at 2 p.m. ET. When Saturday’s game tips, it will mark 266 days since the Blue Devils last played — the longest drought of games for Duke since the 267 days between the 1981-82 and 1982-83 campaigns. Duke ended last season with a win over North Carolina in the regular season finale (March 7) before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the ACC Tournament, the NCAA Tournament and delayed the start of the 2020-21 season.
Juan Dixon is the 4th year coach for Coppin State, Dixon as most may remember is a former MD Terrapin guard who won an NCAA Championship and a former ACC Player of the year under coach Gary Williams.