Game Preview: Texas Longhorns versus No. 6 Duke Blue Devils

The Sean Miller era on the 40 Acres begins with a tough test, as Texas tips off its 2025 college basketball season in Charlotte against No. 6 Duke. These two teams are in different parts of a build. Duke basketball, similar to Texas football, is a championship or bust program year-in and year-out and this season is no different. The Longhorns, on the other hand, are hoping to be a competitive team in the SEC with a chance to make the NCAA tournament. More than wins and losses specifically, Texas fans will be looking for a better offensive product under Sean Miller compared to the last few years under former head coach Rodney Terry.

Texas Players to Watch

Texas added some impactful players from the transfer portal, but the chunk of their scoring will come from two returning guards, Jordan Pope and Tramon Mark. Both players played for Rodney Terry last season and both had an up and down first season in Austin. Pope came to Texas after a season at Oregon State in 2023-24 averaging over 17 points a game and over 37 % from three. He didn’t get the same volume at Texas, but will need to improve upon his 11 points per game he averaged his first season in Austin. He should be able to do that in a more spread out, guard-friendly system with new head coach Sean Miller. Fellow guard Tramon Mark is entering his sixth season in college basketball and really seemed to improve offensively late in the season last year. Mark is more of a true point guard where Pope is more of an off-ball guard who can be an elite shooter.

The top transfer Texas fans need to familiarize themselves with is Xavier transfer wing Dailyn Swain. Swain is the do it all wing and potentially the best player the Longhorns will have in 2025. Swain averaged just 8 points 4 rebounds and 2 assists last year. Those stats are misleading and he is a much better player than his stats suggest. In the second round of the NCAA tournament last year against Illinois, Swain had 27 points to go along with eight rebounds. Swain or returning guard Chendall Weaver will be guarding the opponents’ best player each night. It’ll be Weaver if it’s a guard but Swain if it’s a bigger player. Should Swain improve his three point shot, he will be a future first round pick. Beyond perimeter shooting, rebounding is the biggest question for Sean Miller’s group. Texas added seven footer Matas Vokietaitis from Florida Atlantic in the transfer portal. It will be pivotal Matas stays out of foul trouble, or Texas will struggle to rebound. He brings the type of rim protection that nobody else on the team can provide. Matas had major issues with foul trouble last year, so it will be important he improves on that in Austin.

Texas Must Contain Cameron Boozer

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Duke has an elite freshman. His name is Cameron Boozer. The likely future #1 pick in the NBA draft is the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer. Boozer is a 6 foot 9 inch freshman who can do it all. It will need to be a group effort for Texas to not let the freshman beat them on his own. Dailyn Swain will be assigned the matchup but he won’t be able to guard Boozer on his own. Beyond that, if Swain gets in foul trouble, it will impact the Texas offense as well.

Texas can’t let Boozer and the Duke shooters around him beat them. That is the worst case scenario. In fact, Texas may be better off letting Boozer get his points and trying to slow the role players. Boozer is going to score and mark his impact on the game. He’s an elite talent but Texas can limit the role players, which will make it harder for Duke to score consistently over 48 minutes. Texas fans shouldn’t read too much into this game, win or loss in Sean Miller’s debut, but it’s always good to see how you stack up against a top team like Duke.