It's hard to believe because it feels like the college football season just started, but the start of the college basketball is right around the corner. The regular season begins on November 6th, and the preseason AP Poll was released last week. Duke basketball is a team that competes every season, and the Blue Devils are once again expected to be one of the best teams in the nation. Duke is entering the season ranked #2, only behind Kansas, and they will look to make a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament this year.

Last season, Duke basketball finished the regular season with a 23-8 (14-6) record, and they came into the tournament hot as they had just won the ACC Tournament as the #4 seed. The Blue Devils were also a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they went down in the round of 32 against Tennessee. This season, their goals are aimed for a much better finish.

“Nothing else but a national championship,” Duke star Kyle Filipowski said regarding his expectations for the season, according to a tweet from NCAA March Madness.

Duke is going to have the talent to compete for a national championship, and having Kyle Filipowski back is a big reason why. This will be his second season with the Blue Devils, and the star big man put up huge numbers during his freshman season. Last year, the seven-footer averaged 15.1 PPG, 8.9 RBG and .7 blocks per game while averaging 29.2 minutes per game. Those are extremely impressive numbers, especially considering that he was a true freshman last year.

The sophomore jump should be a big one for Filipowksi, and this Duke basketball team should see a jump as a whole as well. We will get to see the Blue Devils in action for the first time on November 6th as they will begin the season at home against Dartmouth. Duke's next two games after that, however, is when we'll learn a lot about this team. They take on #12 Arizona on November 10th and Michigan State on November 14th. It's going to be another fun season of college hoops.