# 2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by 41st-year head coach, Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils played their home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Known for consistent high-level performance under Krzyzewski's tenure, the Blue Devils struggled to match their norm this season. Duke fell out of the AP and Coaches Poll rankings within the first few weeks and struggled to maintain a winning record. The Blue Devils finished the 2020–21 season 13–11, and 9–9 to finish in tenth place in ACC play. Duke spent much of the late season on the bubble, according to bracketologists, and ultimately their season ended when a positive COVID-19 test forced them to drop out of the ACC tournament ahead of the quarterfinals. Duke missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995.

## Previous season

The Blue Devils finished the 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. The 2020 NCAA tournament was also canceled due to the pandemic.

## 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 |
| Tre Jones | G | 6'3" | 185 | Sophomore | Apple Valley, MN | Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 41st overall by the San Antonio Spurs |
| Vernon Carey Jr. | C | 6'10" | 275 | Freshman | Southwest Ranches, FL | Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 32nd overall by the Charlotte Hornets |
| Cassius Stanley | G | 6'5" | 185 | Freshman | Los Angeles, CA | Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 54th overall by the Indiana Pacers |

### 2020 recruiting class

The 2020 recruiting class was ranked third in the nation by 247 Sports' Composite Ranking.
College recruiting information :
| 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 |
| Star ratings: 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 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 94 ||||||
| D. J. Steward SG | Chicago, IL | Whitney Young HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Sep 18, 2019 |
| Star ratings: 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 |
| Star ratings: 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 |
| Star ratings: 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 |
| Star ratings: 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

College recruiting information (2021) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| AJ Griffin SF | Ossining, NY | Archbishop Stepinac | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 203 lb (92 kg) | Nov 4, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 |||||||
| Paolo Banchero PF | Seattle, WA | O'Dea | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 232 lb (105 kg) | Aug 20, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 97 |||||||
| Trevor Keels SG | Clinton, MD | Paul VI Catholic | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 2, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 |||||||
| Jaylen Blakes CG | Somerset, NJ | Blair Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 19, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 3 247Sports: 3 |||||||
| 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 April 21, 2021. |||||||

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Mark Williams | Henry Coleman III | |
| PF | Matthew Hurt | Jaemyn Brakefield | Keenan Worthington |
| SF | Wendell Moore Jr. | Joey Baker | Patrick Tapé |
| SG | D. J. Steward | Mike Buckmire | |
| PG | Jeremy Roach | Jordan Goldwire | 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. On September 16, 2020, the NCAA announced that November 25 would be the new start date. Matchups for ACC–Big Ten Challenge were released on October 30. 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. 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.
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. 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.
| 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. | Postponed. Rescheduled for December 19. | Postponed. Rescheduled for December 19. | Postponed. Rescheduled for December 19. | Postponed. Rescheduled for December 19. | 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 | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | 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 | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | 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 | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| December 29, 2020 8:00 pm, ACCN | No. 20 | Pittsburgh | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| January 2, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | at No. 18 Florida State | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | 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 | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| 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 | L 89–93 | 7–8 (5–6) | 24 – Moore Jr. | 10 – Moore Jr. | 4 – Goldwire | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| February 13, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN | | at NC State | W 69–53 | 8–8 (6–6) | 24 – Hurt | 5 – Brakefield | 4 – Steward | PNC Arena (25) Raleigh, NC |
| February 17, 2021 8:30 pm, ACCN | | at Wake Forest | W 84–60 | 9–8 (7–6) | 22 – Hurt | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | LJVM Coliseum (102) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 20, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 7 Virginia | W 66–65 | 10–8 (8–6) | 22 – Hurt | 5 – Tied | 7 – Moore | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| February 22, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN | | Syracuse | W 85–71 | 11–8 (9–6) | 21 – Steward | 11 – Williams | 7 – Tied | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| February 27, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN | | Louisville | L 73–80 $^{OT}$ | 11–9 (9–7) | 37 – Hurt | 9 – Moore Jr. | 6 – Goldwire | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| March 2, 2021 8:00 pm, ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | L 77–81 $^{OT}$ | 11–10 (9–8) | 20 – Moore Jr. | 8 – Moore Jr. | 8 – Goldwire | Hank McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA |
| March 6, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at North Carolina Rivalry | L 73–91 | 11–11 (9–9) | 16 – Roach | 8 – Williams | 5 – Roach | Dean Smith Center (3,263) Chapel Hill, NC |
| ACC Tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2021 4:30 pm, ACCN | (10) | vs. (15) Boston College First round | W 86–51 | 12–11 | 17 – Steward | 7 – Hurt | 5 – Roach | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| March 10, 2021 6:30 pm, ACCN | (10) | vs. (7) Louisville Second round | W 70–56 | 13–11 | 23 – Williams | 19 – Williams | 5 – Moore Jr. | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| March 11, 2021 6:30 pm, ESPN | (10) | vs. (2) No. 15 Florida State Quarterfinals | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

On January 18, 2021, Duke fell out of the AP Top 25 ranking for the first time since February 8, 2016. This marked the first time since December 25, 1961 that Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina were all out of the Top 25 ranking.
Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 9 | 6 | 10 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 19 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | 8 (1) | 8 (1)^ | 11 | 23 | 25 | RV | 24 | 23 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.