The Sean Miller era officially starts tonight. Miller took over the Texas Basketball program in late March after the Longhorns parted ways with former coach Rodney Terry. Miller, who came to Texas from Xavier, has settled in well, saying being on the 40 Acres is “breathtaking.”
Appearing on Paul Finebaum’s show on ESPN, Miller talked about his early impressions. “It’s really my first time (in Austin) and it really shocked me,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to be as big. … You know the uniqueness of the campus, the football stadium, the brand new basketball arena, Moody Center, it’s all right together. It’s almost as if Austin and our campus becomes one. And it’s actually breathtaking. It’s hard to describe.”
Miller also brought with him Xavier transfer Dailyn Swain. The forward has recently been put on the Julius Erving Award preseason watch list. Miller, a 250-game winner at both Arizona (2009-21) and Xavier (2004-09, 2022-25), inherits a solid backcourt with guards Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope. But there is a lot to rebuild.
But Miller couldn’t have asked for a more difficult first game with Texas. The Longhorns travel to North Carolina to face perennial college basketball power Duke. The Blue Devils are No. 5 in the preseason Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the preseason AP Top 25.
Duke has a young, but talented roster. Superstar Cooper Flagg has gone to the NBA. But Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer’s lineup includes guard Caleb Foster, defensive stalwart Maliq Brown, center Patrick Ngongba II, and sophomore sharp-shooter Isaiah Evans, who had some big games last season.
The Blue Devils also had the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, led by No. 1-ranked power forward Cameron Boozer and No. 4 point guard Cayden Boozer.
Texas vs. Duke line, odds, spread, over/under
Texas vs. Duke Prediction
There are a lot of things that stack up against Texas in this matchup. For starters, it is Sean Miller’s first game as head coach of the Texas Longhorns basketball team. It is hard to imagine everything jelling from the opening tipoff of season one.
It is also Duke, a college basketball blue blood. The exact opposite would be the case if this game was played in football. The matchup is also in North Carolina. It isn’t Cameron Indoor Stadium on Duke’s campus. But it’s in Charlotte which is only a couple hours drive from Durham.
Final score: Duke 85, Texas 66
Texas vs. Duke game info
Watch Texas vs. Duke Fubo TV! (Regional restrictions may apply)
Will Texas vs. Duke be on YouTube TV?
No, the Texas-Duke game will not be carried on YouTube TV.
The carriage dispute between Disney and YouTube TV that affected millions of college football fans across the country last weekend remains unresolved. Because of that, ABC and the ESPN family of networks do not appear on YouTube TV as Disney and Google, YouTube TV’s parent company, continue to work toward a solution.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas Basketball vs. Duke predictions, picks, odds: Who wins college hoops opening night?
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
