HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - NOVEMBER 02: Nik Khamenia #4 of the Connecticut Huskies shoots against Rue Wells #10 of the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs during the first half of an NCAA men's basketball game at PeoplesBank Arena on November 02, 2026 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - NOVEMBER 02: Nik Khamenia #4 and Nils Machowski #21 of the Connecticut Huskies react during the second half of an NCAA men's basketball game against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at PeoplesBank Arena on November 02, 2026 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
The Duke Blue Devils couldn't quite find a way to get the most out of top-tier recruit Nik Khamenia last season.
That pushed him into the transfer portal, where he chose to play for Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies.
On Monday night, Khamenia and the Huskies opened their season against Gardner-Webb in what was a dominant victory.
Overall, it was a great night for Khamenia, who looked at home on the court for UConn.
GettyHARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – NOVEMBER 02: Nik Khamenia #4 of the Connecticut Huskies shoots against Rue Wells #10 of the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs during the first half of an NCAA men's basketball game at PeoplesBank Arena on November 02, 2026 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
In the 86-46 UConn win, Khamenia didn't need to do too much, but he did plenty.
Khamenia played 26 minutes and scored 14 points. He shot 6-for-11 from the floor, including 2-for-6 from 3-point range.
Khamenia added six rebounds, three assists and a steal while turning the ball over twice.
He was a plus-25 in his time on the floor.
Khamenia finished second on UConn in scoring behind just Braylon Mullins, who dropped 20 points.
GettyHARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – NOVEMBER 02: Nik Khamenia #4 and Nils Machowski #21 of the Connecticut Huskies react during the second half of an NCAA men's basketball game against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at PeoplesBank Arena on November 02, 2026 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
It's fun to note that UConn and Duke will play each other later this month.
They'll match up on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It'll be a marquee matchup for the Huskies and Blue Devils, and a chance for Khamenia to take on his former team.
Duke also opened its season on Monday night, and in its first game since Khamenia's transfer, the Blue Devils had no problems with Army in an 84-50 win.
Dame Sarr led the Duke lineup in scoring with 16 points in 21 minutes.
The highly touted freshman Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje had 15 points and seven rebounds.
Patrick Ngongba II added 10 points, and Cayden Boozer had nine.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer made sure to involve the whole rotation early and often, so no one had huge numbers, but Duke, like Khamenia's UConn, is now 1-0.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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