College Basketball: 6 best games to watch on 2016 opening weekend
By Chris Stone
Marist at Duke, Friday 7:00pm ET
Grand Canyon at Duke, Saturday 5:30pm ET
For the third straight year, Duke will open its schedule with back-to-back games on the first two nights of the regular season. On paper, neither of the Blue Devils’ first two contests should be competitive. KenPom has Marist as the ninth best team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Grand Canyon as the third best team in the Western Athletic Conference. Duke, meanwhile, is rated as the near consensus number one team in the country and a national title favorite, so why are these ones worth watching?
The Blue Devils have the most talented roster in college basketball when all of their players are healthy. Unfortunately, the injury bug has firmly stationed itself in Durham in the early weeks of the season. One of the most talented freshman in the 2016 recruiting class, Harry Giles, had knee surgery late in the offseason and will be out until later this month. Five-star center Marques Bolden is suffering from a lower leg injury and his timetable to return is unclear. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum has been hobbled by a foot strain and should be available for the openers.
What Duke is able to put on the floor this weekend is important because next Tuesday they head to New York to face Kansas in the Champions Classic in an early battle between top five ranked teams, so consider tuning in as a preview of what’s to come in just a few days.