Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball closes out a grueling two-game road swing on 2025-26 opening week this Saturday afternoon with an instate visit to Durham and a meeting with nationally-ranked Duke from historic Cameron Indoor Stadium. Saturday afternoon's tilt will be broadcast on the CW (check local listings) with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.

Matchup: Western Carolina (0-1) at #6/5 Duke (1-0)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 8
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Site: Cameron Indoor Stadium (Durham, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: CW
Twitter: @CatamountMBB

About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts opened the season on Monday night on the wrong end of a 94-63 decision against Big 12 counterpart Cincinnati. Redshirt junior guard Cord Stansberry finished with one off his career-high with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro added 13 points and five rebounds, while redshirt junior Marcus Kell scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds, which led the Catamounts on the glass.

Kell's nine boards were a part of the 37 for the team as WCU out-rebounded Cincinnati by one, 37-36, including 14 on the offensive glass, led by Kell's four and freshman Samuel Dada with three offensive rebounds.

Six Catamounts made their WCU debuts in Monday night's opener, including Soumaoro and Tidjiane Dioumassi, along with sophomores Abdulai Fanta Kabba and Justin Johnson. At the same time, Tahlan Pettway and Samuel Dada saw action in their first collegiate contest.

Through the opening salvo of games across the Southern Conference, Stansberry finished tied for second in the league with 23 points, while pouring in the second-most field goals (9) and tied for fifth in 3-pointers (4). Kell sits in a tie for fourth with his nine boards, including being one of 11 players in the league to tally four offensive rebounds in the opening games across the league.

Western Carolina's 2025-26 roster features a diverse background of student-athletes, with 10 different states and three countries represented, making it one of the most diverse rosters in the country. The 2025-26 Catamounts also featured a more experienced squad, with eight players having combined for 208 starts entering the season, compared to just two starts from one player before head coach Tim Craft's debut team in Cullowhee.

Craft and the Catamounts face a strong nonconference slate that includes teams from the ACC, SEC, and a Big 12 counterpart. All told, the Catamounts face 12 teams throughout the 2025-26 season that recorded 19 or more victories a season ago, including five squads that eclipsed the 25-win plateau. Five opponents appeared in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, three schools made the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), including conference foe Chattanooga, which won the Tournament, and one team appeared in the newest postseason tournament, the College Basketball Crown.

Craft is accustomed to playing at name-brand schools. During his time at Gardner-Webb and Western Carolina, he's totaled 48 contests against schools from the ACC, SEC, Big 10, PAC 12, Big East, Big 12, and the American Athletic Conference, including the four on the 2025 docket. The Catamounts face Duke, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, and Georgia, all before SoCon play. Craft-led teams have had their most success against the ACC, with three wins over Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest during his tenure in Boiling Springs. During his time at Gardner-Webb, Craft's squads also defeated Purdue, Nebraska, and Georgia.

Scouting the Opposition:
Perennial powerhouse Duke opened the season on Tuesday, earning a 75-60 victory over Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational, played in the home of the Charlotte Hornets, the Spectrum Center. In addition to their opening game with the Longhorns, the Blue Devils also had preseason contests with UCF (W, 96-71) and Tennessee (W, 83-76).

The Blue Devils finished 35-4 a season ago, including a 19-1 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), as they won the ACC Regular Season and Tournament titles before advancing to the Final Four and falling to national runner-up Houston.

Duke is led by fourth-year head coach Jon Scheyer, who has won 27 or more games in each of his three previous seasons in Durham. Scheyer was preceded on the sidelines by two-time Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, who won over 1,200 games and five national championships during his tenure. Scheyer was a former All-American under Krzyzewski and joined his staff beginning in the 2013-14 season.

Sophomore Isaiah Evans led the Blue Devils on Tuesday with 23 points as he connected on 53.8% (7-of-13), including four threes. Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year selection and first-team All-ACC selection, Cameron Boozer tallied a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds for Duke as sophomore Patrick Ngongba II rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points.

Duke was tabbed to win the 2025-26 ACC Championship, receiving 34 of 49 first-place votes. The conference featured three teams in the Preseason AP Top 25 Poll. On top of Boozer's Preseason Rookie of the Year pick, he was tabbed second in the Preseason Player of the Year pick and tied for the most points earned on the first team Preseason All-ACC. Evans earned second-team honors from the league as well.

Series History:
Western Carolina and Duke have met three times before Saturday's action, with the Blue Devils claiming all three. Duke most recently won in the Bull City in 1996, when Duke earned the 104-54 victory.

The Catamounts have battled 13 teams that currently call the ACC home – Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, N.C. State, SMU, Clemson, Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Pitt, and Florida State. WCU has earned wins over Louisville, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, and Florida State in that stretch. Multiple head-to-head matchups between the 13 schools have occurred when teams were in different leagues, such as the Big East or the American.

Up Next:
Following Saturday's action in Durham, the Catamounts open a season-long three-game homestand beginning on Thursday, Nov. 13, with NAIA counterpart Voorhees out of Denmark, S.C. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The matchup with the Tigers will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com and live audio through the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 6:30 p.m... 

Season tickets for the home portion of the 2025-26 Catamount men's and women's basketball seasons are on sale now through the first-floor Ramsey Center Ticket Office, by phone at (828) 227-2401, and online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Options include tickets for men's or women's and an "all-hoops" package for every home game in the Ramsey Center for both squads. Single-game tickets for both squads are also on sale.

Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountMBB @catamounts).