Duke is back on top.
The unbeaten Blue Devils jumped from fifth to first in the AP basketball poll after defeating last week’s top ranked Gonzaga, 85-81, in Vegas. The power of coach K’s farewell tour and an epic victory over the Zags, who fell to third behind Duke and Purdue.
This is the 127th week at No. 1 for Mike Krzyzewski, ahead of the late John Wooden of UCLA and it is a huge turnaround after a tumultuous 13-11 season in the pandemic that saw the 7-0 Devils failed to make the NCAA tournament field for the first time since 1995.
Duke has returned to national prominence with a Top 2 recruiting class that features 6-10, 250- pound freshman forward Paolo Banchero, who could be the first pick in the 2022 NBA draft. The Blue Devils have three Duke is back on top.
other players– 7-0 shot blocking center Mark Williams, freshman guard Tyler Keels and junior guard Wendell Moore Jr– who are also potential first round draft picks.
The Blue Devils will play their first game as a No. 1 Tuesday when they visit Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten challenge.
Gonzaga looked like the odds- on favorite to win its first national title after the Zags blew away two Top 5 teams — second ranked UCLA in Vegas and fifth ranked Texas in Spokane– in early season games. But the Zags were not ready for the level of skill, physicality and talent that Duke displayed before an electric crowd of 20,000 in the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas Friday night.
The Blue Devils might not be as ferocious as defending champion Baylor, which busted Gonzaga’s bid for a perfect season in the national championship game last year in Indianapolis. But they passed the eye test among the writers who vote in the AP poll. Duke received 51 first place votes. Second-ranked Purdue got 9. But the gap is not that wide.
Duke’s November wins over Kentucky in the Garden and Gonzaga on a neutral site are viewed as slightly better than Purdue’s back- to- back wins over North Carolina and Villanova in the Hall of Fame Classic at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. They have a chance to pick up another quality world this week with a game against Florida State in West Lafayette in the ACC-Big Ten challenge.
Banchero, the ACC’s pre-season Player of the Year, is a superstar and his supporting cast has all played well in their two biggest games. Duke is not as deep as Purdue, but the Blue Devils defended the rim and perimeter well against Kentucky and the Zags.
Purdue (6-0) has multiple stars with towering 7-4 freshman center Zach Edey and 6-10, 265- pound Trevion Williams, who is coming off the bench, inside and guard Jason Ivey, a starter for the USA U 19 World Championship gold medal team on the perimeter. Sasha Stefanovic and Eric Hunter and Isiah Thompson give the Big Ten Boilermakers a collection of rotation players who can score in double figures.
The Boilers are are No. 2 in Kenpom’s adjusted offensive efficiency
The race for No. 1 could be fluid. Gonzaga may not lose again. And unbeaten Baylor, which won the Battle 4 Atlantis, is huge up front and looks like the best team in a crowded Big 12.
