Duke basketball's non-conference schedule is already difficult, and it won't get any more difficult.
Duke will not compete this season after rumors surfaced that the Blue Devils were connected to the inaugural Name, Image and Portrait Tournament to be held in Las Vegas in November.
according to CBS SportsAlabama, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, and Texas A&M will all compete in this event, as the final teams are still being debated among tournament organizers.
Each NIL Collective will earn $1 million for participating in the program, which will be divided among players, who will have the opportunity to earn even more NIL opportunities through event sponsorship.
The winning team could receive an additional $1 million, but the format of the event has not yet been revealed. The team will be split into his two brackets and there could be two champions.
According to the report, Duke University is a potential team to join the tournament in 2025, and next season's tournament size is expected to double from eight to 16 teams.
This season's participating schools are expected to participate for the third consecutive season.
Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan, Syracuse and Virginia are also reportedly aiming to participate in the 2025 tournament.
Duke is scheduled to travel to Las Vegas to play Kansas State in November, but that is not part of the NIL event.
The Blue Devils will also play non-conference games this offseason against Arizona (Tucson), Kentucky (Atlanta), Illinois (New York) and an SEC program (Durham) to be announced at a later date.
John Scheyer has two of the top three NBA Draft prospects on his roster in Cooper Flagg and Carman Maluach, and there will be a lot of attention on the program this season.