NCAA Basketball: 3 thoughts on debut AP preseason top-25 poll for 2018-19

2. Duke vs. Kentucky

These two college basketball teams – arguably the most illustrious programs in the history of the sport – often run in tandem. That’s true on the court and on the recruiting trail.

Both are dealing with substantial losses, as they do each year due to the one-and-dones that flood their locker rooms. But the pollsters might be wise to flip their positions after the initial poll drop.

Kentucky checks in at No. 2, with 19 first-place votes. Meanwhile, Duke is at No. 4, with just four first-place votes.

There’s not much of a question as to who had the better offseason off the court.

Duke once again brought in the best recruiting class in the country. They scored arguably the top three members of the Class of 2018 in Cam Reddish, RJ Barrett, and the famed Zion Williamson. Tre Jones is practically an afterthought and yet he’s a Top 15 national recruit.

Kentucky’s class is nothing to laugh at, with three of the Top 15 recruits in the country as well. There’s little doubt that they could be one of the top five teams in the country when all is said and done.

Duke’s team is more primed to take over from the onset of the season, though. Kentucky will be following in their tracks, not the other way around.