NC State Basketball Rival Preview: Duke
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RALEIGH — The Research Triangle is set to make a return as college basketball's most exciting region, with all three programs in the area looking very strong with just weeks before the start of the 2025-26 season.
Now led by head coach Will Wade, the NC State Wolfpack wants to be a disruptor in the ACC. To do that, Wade and his band of elite transfer talent will have to earn respect in the Triangle by competing with North Carolina and the Duke Blue Devils. Fresh off a trip to the Final Four, Duke coach Jon Scheyer remade a large portion of the roster around freshman phenom Cameron Boozer.
Focused on Themselves
While Wade and star player Darrion Williams expressed their feelings about the lack of respect for NC State and hatred of UNC, Duke's contingent at ACC Tipoff remained focused on their own primary task: winning a national championship.
"For us, very hungry to start the season. We know it's going to be a really difficult schedule that we have to play, but these guys are up for the challenge," Scheyer said.
A major piece in returning to championship glory for the first time since 2015 and the first time since the retirement of program icon Mike Krzyzewski will be Boozer. He and his twin brother, Cayden, followed in the footsteps of their father, Carlos, who helped lead Duke to a national championship in 2001.
Cameron entered as the consensus No. 3 recruit in the class of 2025 and already hauled in some hardware. Boozer earned preseason ACC Rookie of the Year honors, but fell a few votes short in the race for preseason player of the year. That honor went to the Wolfpack's Williams, despite having the wrong photo displayed at ACC Tipoff.
Returners and an NC State Connection
Scheyer will rely on two key returners to help lead the Blue Devils in the 2025-26 campaign. Forward Maliq Brown and point guard Caleb Foster both came back to Durham for another shot at championship glory with the Blue Devils. Brown missed the 2025 matchup against the Wolfpack, while Foster was relegated to a bench role in the Blue Devils' 74-64 win.
Foster's development will be crucial for Duke, as the Blue Devils have always thrived when led by a true point guard.
"He can score and impact with the ball, but the areas without the ball is where I've seen a ton of growth," Scheyer said about Foster. "That shows maturity, and it shows how coachable he is and how badly he wants to win a national championship."
Brown has ties to one of NC State's contributors. While at Syracuse, Brown shared the court with Quadir Copeland, who joined NC State after spending a season with Wade at McNeese State. Both players were defensive stalwarts in the 2024-25 season and will need to replicate those abilities in the Triangle.
"The energy that he brings is something that gives a lot of people on the court more juice," Brown said of his former teammate.
The Final Word
It's only year one of the Wade Era in Raleigh, so it's unfair for NC State's fan base to expect the Wolfpack to surpass both Duke and North Carolina as the premier basketball program in the Triangle. However, Wade's confidence certainly created a feeling that the Wolfpack could make waves right away.
NC State won't face Duke until February, but will have plenty of opportunities to prove itself as a worthy contender for the Triangle crown before then.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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