With a few games in the books in a fresh college basketball season, a few top programs are soaring above expectations, while others are failing to meet the moment with what it requires.
In the last decade, Duke’s women’s basketball team has missed the NCAA tournament twice. Given how the team has started the 2025-26 season, this will be just the third time.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>This Women’s basketball game between <a href=”https://twitter.com/DukeWBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@DukeWBB</a> and <a href=”https://twitter.com/WVUWBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@WVUWBB</a> is crazy ejections from both teams and West Virginia has only 5 players left for the second half <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Duke?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Duke</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WestVirginia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WestVirginia</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/NCAAWBB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#NCAAWBB</a> <a href=”https://t.co/dCkMu0nWiA”>pic.twitter.com/dCkMu0nWiA</a></p>— peter lombari (@lombari_peter) <a href=”https://twitter.com/lombari_peter/status/1989508985251385512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Despite only having five eligible players at its disposal for the entire second half after multiple ejections, West Virginia upset Duke, 57-49. Six Mountaineers were ejected after a dust-up before halftime. Duke’s Jordan Wood blocked a shot attempt by West Virginia’s Jordan Harrison. Feeling the impact of the moment, Wood yelled in Harrison’s direction. Harrison shoved wood, and that’s when the fireworks kicked off. West Virginia’s entire bench left the sideline and went onto the floor. Though they weren’t involved, the players were ejected for leaving the bench.
WEST VIRGINIA TAKES DOWN NO. 15 DUKE WITH 5 PLAYERS 😳
After an on court scuffle, six players were ejected at the top of the 3Q 👀 pic.twitter.com/B0osehehoY
— espnW (@espnW) November 15, 2025
After losing more than half its team, you would think that West Virginia stood no chance against a fully-staffed Blue Devils squad. Every Mountaineer who scored in the first half was ejected, leaving five players to make the most of the situation. That was no problem for West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg as the Mountaineers dialed up their defensive pressure with a 2-3 zone throughout the third quarter.
The strategy worked in a fashion that Kellogg could’ve only dreamed of, as his team refused to allow Duke to build any resemblance to composure. With the perennial powerhouse unable to find the beat, West Virginia raced out to a 24-9 advantage and built a double-digit lead heading into the final frame.
The Mountaineers forced the issue early and often in the second half, shooting 14-of-18 from the free-throw line as a disorganized Blue Devils team failed to muster the necessary gusto to close out a tough win in a neutral environment. Duke has had its fair share of question marks to start the season, but an early loss in this fashion is hard to shake.
Over the last several seasons, Duke’s offensive approach has failed to adapt to the current era. Whether it be a lack of consistency in regards to production or efficiency, the team has struggled more times than not to put points on the board. Entering this season, the Blue Devils would be without reigning ACC Tournament MVP Oluchi Okananwa, who entered the transfer portal to party with Maryland head coach Brenda Frese and the Terrapins.
After beating Oregon in the tourney last season, Duke failed to score more than 50 points in consecutive outings against UNC and South Carolina. The team didn’t notch 50 points against West Virginia. In the season-opening loss to Baylor, the Blue Devils netted 52 points. It’s not necessarily about the point total, but more so about how the team functions to achieve them. From what we’ve seen so far this season, Duke is not a tournament team. This can always change, but the trajectory says otherwise.
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Born and raised in Chicago, Christan Braswell is a women’s sports journalist with a focus on the WNBA and women’s college basketball. He’s an avid fan of elevator screens and stuffed-crust pizza. Outside of sports, he’s an avid cook and lover of the great outdoors.
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