One of the best parts of going to a highly regarded school such as Duke is that you can be sure at least a few of their varsity teams will have a fighting of winning a NCAA championship.
JD Dukes lived for this excitement back when he went to school here, and you will too. Here’s what you can expect in the various sports that Duke is participating in this season…
Football
Football is the sport that is taken most seriously by most fans of college athletics. However, in the case of the Duke Blue Devils, this year’s team will be one that many will seek to forget about not long after the season is over.
More than halfway through the schedule, Duke’s football team sits at 3 wins and 5 losses (with an embarrassing 0-4 record in ACC play). Four of the losses coming in close games where they fell short or gave up the lead in the fourth quarter, making it all the more painful for the Duke faithful.
A mass of injuries to key players is another complication that has kneecapped the fortunes of the Blue Devils this fall, as a decent portion of the lineup is presently occupied by members of the practice squad.
Basketball
For every disappointment that Duke has suffered on the gridiron, there is an equal amount of optimism that the basketball team will continue their domineering ways this coming season.
In a preseason poll that was just released by the Associated Press, Duke ran away with the top honors, heightening expectations for the coming season. Led by Grayson Allen, there’s little reason to think that they won’t run the table once again this year.
Baseball
Historically, Duke hasn’t been a force in baseball, but that changed for the first time in 55 years last spring. Making it to the NCAA tournament, dreams of reaching the College World Series are very much on the mind of Duke’s 2017 squad.
As of the writing of this article, they are competing in an intrasquad tournament to keep their skills sharp ahead of the regular season, which starts on February 17.
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is another sport in which Duke historically excels. Despite the headlines that painted the team and school in negative light ten years ago, they have recovered from that distraction to win the NCAA title two out of the last three seasons (in the last one, they bowed out in the first round, despite amassing a respectable 12-6 record in the regular season).
This year, they host the ACC tournament, which will make their path to another NCAA championship that much easier.
Other varsity sports
There are many other varsity sports worth checking out at Duke during the 2016/2017 season. Fans of golf will enjoy watching the men’s and the woman’s sides, the latter of which stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the basketball team in terms of their success in recent years.
The woman’s soccer team reached the NCAA finals last season, losing to Penn State. Much of this team’s core is returning for this year, ensuring another season of competitive excitement.
In addition to these, there are a number of other sports from swimming to wrestling that will make for a great way to spend an afternoon on campus if you are going to Duke this school year.