2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represents Duke University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They are coached by 41st-year head coach, Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils play their home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
2020–21 record	7–7 (5–5 ACC)
Head coach	Mike Krzyzewski (41st season)
Assistant coaches	Nate James Jon Scheyer Chris Carrawell
Home arena	Cameron Indoor Stadium

2020–21 ACC men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 14 Virginia	9	–	1		.900			13	–	3		.813
No. 20 Florida State	6	–	2		.750			10	–	3		.769
No. 16 Virginia Tech	8	–	3		.727			14	–	4		.778
Louisville	6	–	3		.667			11	–	4		.733
North Carolina	7	–	4		.636			12	–	6		.667
Georgia Tech	5	–	4		.556			9	–	6		.600
Clemson	6	–	5		.545			12	–	5		.706
Pittsburgh	5	–	5		.500			9	–	6		.600
Duke	5	–	5		.500			7	–	7		.500
Syracuse	4	–	5		.444			10	–	6		.625
NC State	4	–	6		.400			8	–	7		.533
Notre Dame	4	–	7		.364			7	–	10		.412
Miami (FL)	3	–	10		.231			7	–	11		.389
Wake Forest	2	–	8		.200			5	–	8		.385
Boston College	1	–	7		.125			3	–	11		.214
† 2021 ACC Tournament winner As of February 6, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Blue Devils finished the season 2019–20 season 25–6, and 15–5 to finish in a tie for second place in ACC play. The team was scheduled to play NC State in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament before the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2] The NCAA Tournament was also canceled due to the pandemic.[3][4]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Justin Robinson	F	6'9"	202	Senior (Redshirt)	San Antonio, TX	Completed college eligibility
Javin Delaurier	F	6'10"	237	Senior	Charlottesville, VA	Graduated; Free-Agent acquisition by the Charlotte Hornets.
Jack White	F	6'7"	222	Senior	Canberra, Australia	Graduated
Alex O'Connell	G	6'6"	190	Junior	Roswell, GA	Transferred to Creighton[5]
Tre Jones	G	6'3"	185	Sophomore	Apple Valley, MN	Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 41st overall by the San Antonio Spurs[6]
Vernon Carey Jr.	C	6'10"	275	Freshman	Southwest Ranches, FL	Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 32nd overall by the Charlotte Hornets[7]
Cassius Stanley	G	6'5"	185	Freshman	Los Angeles, CA	Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 54th overall by the Indiana Pacers[8]

2020 recruiting class

The 2020 recruiting class was ranked third in the nation by 247 Sports' Composite Ranking.[9]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jeremy Roach PG	Leesburg, VA	Paul VI Catholic HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Mar 8, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 94
Jalen Johnson SF	Glendale, WI	Nicolet High School (WI)	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jul 4, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 94
DJ Steward SG	Chicago, IL	Whitney Young HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sep 18, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 92
Jaemyn Brakefield PF	Jackson, MS	Huntington Prep	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Oct 4, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 89
Mark Williams C	Norfolk, VA	IMG Academy (FL)	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Nov 1, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 89
Henry Coleman III PF	Richmond, VA	Trinity Episcopal School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Sep 27, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 85
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Duke Commits". Rivals.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
AJ Griffin SF	Ossining, NY	Archbishop Stepinac (NY)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 4, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 93
Paolo Banchero PF	Seattle, WA	O'Dea (WA)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Aug 20, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 97
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.

Roster

2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Wendell Moore 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 216 lb (98 kg) So Cox Mill Charlotte, NC F 1 Jalen Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Nicolet Milwaukee, WI G 2 DJ Steward 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Fr Whitney Young Chicago, IL G 3 Jeremy Roach 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Paul VI Leesburg, VA F 5 Jaemyn Brakefield 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Fr Huntington Prep Jackson, MS F 12 Patrick Tapé 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 233 lb (106 kg) GS Columbia Charlotte, NC F 13 Joey Baker 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 201 lb (91 kg) Jr Trinity Christian School Fayetteville, NC G 14 Jordan Goldwire 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Sr Norcross Norcross, GA C 15 Mark Williams 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 243 lb (110 kg) Fr IMG Academy Virginia Beach, VA F 21 Matthew Hurt 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So John Marshall Rochester, MN G 30 Michael Savarino 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Durham Academy Durham, NC F 34 Henry Coleman III 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 229 lb (104 kg) Fr Trinity Episcopal Richmond, VA F 45 Keenan Worthington 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Blair Academy Chapel Hill, NC G 51 Mike Buckmire 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Germantown Friends School Blue Bell, PA	Head coach Mike Krzyzewski (Army) Assistant coach(es) Nate James (Duke) Jon Scheyer (Duke) Chris Carrawell (Duke) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 10, 2020

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Matthew Hurt	Mark Williams	Henry Coleman III
PF	Jalen Johnson	Jaemyn Brakefield	Keenan Worthington
SF	Wendell Moore	Joey Baker	Patrick Tapé
SG	DJ Steward	Mike Buckmire
PG	Jordan Goldwire	Jeremy Roach	Michael Savarino

Schedule and results

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the start of the season was pushed back from the scheduled start of November 10.[10] On September 16, 2020, the NCAA announced that November 25 would be the new start date.[11] Matchups for ACC–Big Ten Challenge were released on October 30.[12] The Champions Classic, which was originally to be held on November 10, was later moved to December 1 and was to be held in Orlando. However, due to disagreements between ESPN, who was staging the event (and others), over health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, the event was canceled.[13] It was hoped that the event could be still held elsewhere. It was later reported that the Blue Devils would play their Champions Classic game at Duke while Kentucky and Kansas will play in Indianapolis due to conflicting COVID-19 protocols by the respective schools.[14]

Prior to the start of the season, it was announced that Duke would not play its scheduled season opener against Gardner–Webb, which had a positive coronavirus test within its team.[15] On December 10, 2020, the school announced that it would cancel the remaining non-conference games, meaning games already postponed would not be made up.[16]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020	No. 8	Gardner–Webb	Postponed. Rescheduled for December 19.[17]					Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, NC
November 28, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 8	Coppin State	W 81–71	1–0	24 – Steward	19 – Johnson	5 – Johnson	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
December 1, 2020* 7:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 6	No. 8 Michigan State Champions Classic	L 69–75	1–1	21 – Hurt	13 – Hurt	2 – Roach	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
December 4, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 6	Bellarmine	W 76–54	2–1	24 – Hurt	7 – Williams	6 – Tied	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
December 6, 2020	No. 6	Elon	Canceled[18]					Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, NC
December 8, 2020* 9:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 10	No. 6 Illinois ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 68–83	2–2	19 – Hurt	7 – Tied	7 – Roach	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
December 12, 2020	No. 10	Charleston Southern	Canceled[19]					Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, NC
December 16, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 21	at Notre Dame	W 75–65	3–2 (1–0)	18 – Hurt	7 – Steward	3 – Hurt	Purcell Pavilion (89) Notre Dame, IN
December 19, 2020	No. 21	Gardner–Webb	Canceled[16]					Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, NC
December 29, 2020 8:00 pm, ACCN	No. 20	Pittsburgh	Postponed[20]					Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, NC
January 2, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 20	at No. 18 Florida State	Postponed[21]					Donald L. Tucker Center  Tallahassee, FL
January 6, 2021 8:30 pm, ACCN	No. 21	Boston College	W 83–82	4–2 (2–0)	25 – Moore	11 – Hurt	6 – Goldwire	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
January 9, 2021 12:00 pm, ACCN	No. 21	Wake Forest	W 79–68	5–2 (3–0)	26 – Hurt	8 – Moore	5 – Goldwire	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
January 12, 2021 7:00 pm, ACCN	No. 19	at No. 20 Virginia Tech	L 67–74	5–3 (3–1)	22 – Roach	11 – Hurt	4 – Tied	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
January 19, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPN		at Pittsburgh	L 73–79	5–4 (3–2)	24 – Johnson	15 – Johnson	7 – Johnson	Petersen Events Center (500) Pittsburgh, PA
January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN		at Louisville	L 65–70	5–5 (3–3)	24 – Hurt	8 – Hurt	3 – Moore Jr.	KFC Yum! Center (3,219) Louisville, KY
January 26, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPN		Georgia Tech	W 75–68	6–5 (4–3)	19 – Steward	8 – Hurt	7 – Goldwire	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
January 30, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN2		Clemson	W 79–53	7–5 (5–3)	13 – Hurt	8 – Johnson	5 – Tied	Littlejohn Coliseum (0) Clemson, SC
February 1, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN		at Miami	L 75–77	7–6 (5–4)	21 – Hurt	7 – Johnson	3 – Moore Jr.	Watsco Center (0) Miami, FL
February 6, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN		North Carolina Rivalry	L 87–91	7–7 (5–5)	16 – Roach	8 – Williams	5 – Roach	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
February 9, 2021 4:30 pm, ACCN		Notre Dame						Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, NC
February 13, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN		at NC State						PNC Arena  Raleigh, NC
February 17, 2021 8:30 pm, ACCN		at Wake Forest						LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, NC
February 20, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN		Virginia						Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, NC
February 22, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN		Syracuse						Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, NC
February 27, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN		Louisville						Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, NC
March 2, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN/ESPN2		at Georgia Tech						Hank McCamish Pavilion  Atlanta, GA
March 6, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN		at North Carolina Rivalry						Dean Smith Center  Chapel Hill, NC
ACC Tournament
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[22]

Rankings

On January 18, 2021, Duke fell out of the AP Top 25 ranking for the first time since February 8, 2016. This broke a 59-year streak and marked the first time since December 25, 1961 that the powerhouse trio of Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina were all out of the Top 25 ranking.[23]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	9	6	10	21	20	20	21	19	RV	NR
Coaches	8 (1)	8 (1)^	11	23	25	RV	24	23	RV	NR

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

1. "Statement from ACC on Men's Basketball Tournament". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
2. McGavic, Matthew. "ACC Cancels Remainder of Men's Basketball Tournament". Sports Illustrated Louisville Cardinals News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
3. "2020 NCAA Tournament canceled due to growing threat of coronavirus pandemic". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
4. "NCAA tournaments canceled over coronavirus". ESPN.com. 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
5. Borzello, Jeff (April 8, 2020). "SG Alex O'Connell transfers from Duke to Crieghton". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
6. "Tre Jones Declares for 2020 NBA Draft". Duke Athletics. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
7. "Carey Declares for 2020 NBA Draft". Duke Athletics. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
8. "Cassius Stanley Declares for 2020 NBA Draft". Duke Athletics. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
9. "2020 Basketball Team Rankings". 247Sports. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
10. "NCAA committees pushing for Nov. 25 as the start date for the 2020-21 college basketball season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
11. "NCAA: Men's, women's hoops can start Nov. 25". ESPN.com. 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
12. Goldberg, Rob. "2020 ACC/Big Ten Challenge Reportedly Set to Be Held Dec. 8-9 on Campuses". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
13. "College basketball tournaments and events in Orlando 'NBA-like bubble' canceled in COVID-19 protocol spat". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
14. Crawford, Kirkland. "Michigan State basketball at Duke reportedly to play Dec. 1 in Champions Classic". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
15. "Duke opener against Gardner-Webb postponed". ESPN.com. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
16. "Duke cancels remaining nonconference basketball games; Coach K wants team to go home for Christmas". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
17. "Duke men's basketball reschedules Gardner-Webb matchup for Dec. 19". The Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
18. "Duke hoops cancels rest of nonconference slate". ESPN.com. 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
19. Condon, Bridget (2020-12-10). "Duke cancels remainder of non-conference men's basketball games due to COVID-19 concerns". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
20. "Pittsburgh at Duke Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
21. "Duke at Florida State Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
22. "2020-21 Duke Blue Devils Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
23. Cassandra Negley (January 18, 2021). "Duke, UNC, Kentucky all outside of men's AP Top 25 for first time since 1961". Retrieved January 20, 2021.