The Duke basketball program kicked off its 2025-26 campaign strong with a 96-71 victory in a charity exhibition match over Johnny Dawkins and UCF. However, the Blue Devils were without potentially the team's best two defenders in senior Maliq Brown and freshman Dame Sarr. Duke had its struggles defensively in the first half with poor communication and miscues on switches, but it was much cleaner across the second 20 minutes as the Blue Devils outscored the Knights 56-32 after entering the halftime locker room with a 40-39 lead. Duke head coach Jon Scheyer provided critical updates on the health of both Brown and Sarr, and the injuries don't look serious.
Jon Scheyer provides critical injury updates on Duke basketball's two best defenders
