Why Texas’ Surprise Choice to Open Against Duke Could Change Everything This Season

Alright, here’s the scoop to kick things off: Duke is set to blast into the 2025-26 campaign with a headline-grabbing showdown in Charlotte against the Texas Longhorns. Now, Texas isn’t just rolling out the usual lineup—they’re hitting the reset button hard after last season, bidding farewell to Rodney Terry and bringing Sean Miller on board to steer the ship. Miller’s return to the big stage is nothing short of intriguing, especially given his rocky exit from Arizona amid the Adidas/FBI scandal and his stint at Xavier. The Longhorns made that change after taking a tough loss to… Xavier, yes, that Xavier, last spring’s NCAA Tournament wild card. So, what brand of basketball Miller will craft in Austin remains a bit of a mystery—he’s not the flashy genius some hoped for, but with three Elite Eight runs under his belt at Arizona and leading Xavier there back in ’08, he’s far from a pushover. Players like Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope aren’t shy about it either—they’re hyped about the challenge, knowing a clash with Duke right out of the gate is gonna test their mettle and sharpen their edge as November 4 looms. It’s always thrilling when the opening tip promises so much drama and potential—can’t wait to see how this one unfolds! LEARN MORE

Duke opens the 2025-26 season in Charlotte against the Texas Longhorns. As you may know, Texas is starting over, having given Rodney Terry the boot after last season and hiring Sean Miller.

Miller was doing a second tour at Xavier after getting fired by Arizona after the Adidas/FBI scandal.

Texas fired Terry after the Longhorns lost to – wait for it – Xavier – in last spring’s NCAA Tournament.

We don’t know yet what Miller is working with in Austin, but whatever else you may think about him, and plenty of people have had thoughts following the fiasco in Tucson, he’s not a bad coach. He’s not a great coach, but he did well at Arizona, getting his team to Elite Eight three times, in addition to taking Xavier that far in 2008.

Tramon Mark said this: “I love it. Duke’s a great challenge for us right out of the season. It’ll test everything that we’ve been working on. These 30 days of practice that we’re about to have is all for that right there.”

Fellow guard Jordan Pope added this: “It’ll be a good test, obviously, right out the gate, throw us into the fire, see what we’re made of. College basketball, that’s what you ask for. That’s what you want. You don’t want to start off playing some random team. So I think a school like Duke, which is a very prominent team in college basketball, and I’m pretty sure they’ll be highly ranked. It’ll be a good opportunity for us to see where we stand and how we’re looking November 4.”