Duke will host Coastal Carolina on Thursday night, Nov. 5, at Cameron Indoor Stadium, with tipoff set for 8:00 and the game on ACCN. It is the kind of early-season matchup that puts a heavy favorite in front of a team trying to prove its style can travel.
For Coastal Carolina, this is Justin Gray’s latest test. The former Wake Forest guard, who played with Chris Paul and learned under Skip Prosser, has spent his first seasons trying to give the program an identity built around what he calls the Coastal Edge — effort, toughness and working hard together. His first season ended at 10-22, and last season brought a 19-13 finish, but this roster looks very different with 12 new players in the offseason.
Gray wants his team to push the tempo and attack on offense. Coastal Carolina spaces the floor, uses a lot of dribble-drives and looks to kick out for threes, which is why the opener matters so much against Duke. The Chanticleers can create problems if the shooting gets hot, even against a team expected to control the game.
Trey Perry gave a snapshot of that perimeter threat in a 71-70 loss to Eastern Michigan, finishing with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Jaylen Cross, who played at Wake Forest last year, appeared in 13 games and averaged 4.9 minutes. Ashton, Penny's son, has already taken a winding path that included Memphis, St. Mary’s, a return to Memphis and then another move to Coastal Carolina. That kind of turnover leaves Gray trying to build continuity quickly.
The size gap is real. Caleb Middleton is Coastal Carolina’s only player over 6-9, and he is 6-11, while Duke brings several big bodies of its own, including 6-11 Pat Ngongba and 7-2 JoJo Boumtje Boumtje. Jon Scheyer also has Drew Scharnowski, Cameron Williams and Maxime Meyer in reserve, along with a backcourt and wing mix that has looked increasingly settled. Dame Sarr has significantly improved his offense, Cayden Boozer has become a steady, heady point guard, and Caleb Foster has earned immense trust from the staff.
Even Duke’s recent details point to a team with room to absorb different kinds of games. John Blackwell did not have a good night against Army on Monday, while Deron Rippey followed with a jaw-dropping dunk. Sebastian Wilkins and Bryson Howard give Scheyer two more Swiss Army knives to use where needed. That depth is why Coastal Carolina arrives as a long shot, but Gray will bring a roster designed to speed the game up and live with the three if the ball starts dropping. If that happens, Thursday night could look closer than the matchup sheet suggests.
