{"id":79638,"date":"2026-04-08T16:04:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isport.com.ng\/?p=79638"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:04:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:04:38","slug":"why-duke-will-be-national-title-contender-again-next-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isport.com.ng\/?p=79638","title":{"rendered":"Why Duke Will Be National Title Contender Again Next Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why Duke Will Be National Title Contender Again Next Season<\/h1>\n
Despite losing the National Player of the Year, the Blue Devils are loaded with returning talent and another elite recruiting class.<\/em><\/div>\n
\n

The 2025-26 Duke basketball season is officially over. The Michigan Wolverines claimed the National Championship with a 69-63 victory over UConn, and the Blue Devils were watching from home after falling in the Elite Eight on a heartbreaking logo buzzer beater to the championship runner-up Huskies.<\/p>\n

Now, Jon Scheyer and his staff turn their full attention to next season and the challenge of rebounding from one of the more painful losses in recent program history.<\/p>\n

Cameron Boozer<\/u>, Isaiah Evans, and Patrick Ngongba could all enter the NBA Draft as potential first-round picks, and sophomore\u00a0Darren Harris<\/u>\u00a0has already entered the transfer portal. Even accounting for those departures, Duke is not being counted out. With players like Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, and Caleb Foster potentially returning to Durham, combined with yet another elite recruiting class, the Blue Devils are still widely regarded as one of the best teams in the country heading into next season.<\/p>\n

ESPN<\/em>\u00a0released its Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for next season, and Duke is listed as the second-best team in the country. The only team ahead of the Blue Devils is the National Champion Michigan Wolverines.<\/p>\n

ESPN: Duke Ranked Second<\/h2>\n

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello<\/u>\u00a0notes that Duke’s roster is in as much flux as any program in college basketball, with Cameron Boozer likely gone and Maliq Brown graduating. However, he points out that Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba II, and Dame Sarr are all projected as late first-round or early second-round picks and could go either way in their draft decisions.<\/p>\n

Bringing back Dame Sarr sis a must for Jon Scheyer. Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba would most likely leave for the NBA Draft; however, with how inconsistent Dame Sarr’s freshman season was, bringing him back to have a much better sophomore year would be beneficial for both Sarr and Scheyer.<\/p>\n

Borzello also highlights that Scheyer again has the nation’s top recruiting class, led by five-stars Cameron Williams and Deron Rippey Jr. Caleb Foster is expected to return as a starter, and both Cayden Boozer and Nikolas Khamenia are set for expanded roles if they remain in Durham.<\/p>\n

This team is going to look very different next season, with players entering the NBA Draft and entering the transfer portal. Jon Scheyer will also not have an All-American-caliber freshman next year and will need to rely on the experienced veterans who have been with him for a while.<\/p>\n

While there is significant roster turnover,\u00a0Duke<\/u>\u00a0should still be considered a top team in the country and a contender to win the National Championship next season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why Duke Will Be National Title Contender Again Next Season Despite losing the National Player of the Year, the Blue Devils are loaded with returning talent and another elite recruiting … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":79639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[298],"class_list":["post-79638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-duke"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Duke Will Be National Title Contender Again Next Season - iSport<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 2025-26 Duke basketball season is officially over. 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