Duke men's basketball to play Arkansas in inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge

Add a trip to Fayetteville to Duke's itinerary.

On Wednesday morning, it was announced that the Blue Devils will play Arkansas in the 2023-24 ACC/SEC Challenge, adding even more beef to an already loaded early-season plate which already includes dates with Arizona and Michigan State. The event replaces the longstanding ACC/Big Ten Challenge which ended last season after 23 consecutive years of operation.

The Blue Devils and Razorbacks are no strangers to one another. After an NCAA tournament run in 2021-22 which included a win against top-seeded Gonzaga, Arkansas advanced to face Duke at Oracle Arena in San Francisco in the Elite Eight, where Duke came out on top. But the Razorbacks downed the Blue Devils in the 1994 title game, denying former head coach Mike Krzyzewski his third title in four years.

Duke and Arkansas both occupy spots in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25, with the former at No. 2 and the latter at No. 14 and head into next season with a point to prove.

The Blue Devils, despite closing the regular season on a six-game winning run, winning the ACC tournament and advancing past the first round of the Big Dance easily, were stalled in the second round against Tennessee. The Razorbacks went a step deeper, taking down No. 1-seed and reigning national champion Kansas in the round of 32 before falling to eventual title-winner UConn.

Duke returns most of its core from last season, including four starters and top scorer Kyle Filipowski, alongside one of the nation's top recruiting classes. Arkansas lost star guard Anthony Black to the NBA Draft, but also retains many of its best players. It also brought in former Louisville standout El Ellis, who torched the Blue Devils for 21 points in their February 20 meeting.

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