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NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Indiana, Marquette quietly rising

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 08: Joey Hauser #22 and Sam Hauser #10 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrate after beating the Wisconsin Badgers 74-69 in overtime at the Fiserv Forum on December 08, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 08: Joey Hauser #22 and Sam Hauser #10 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrate after beating the Wisconsin Badgers 74-69 in overtime at the Fiserv Forum on December 08, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 08: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils goes for a dunk. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 08: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils goes for a dunk. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

2. Duke Blue Devils

Last Week: No. 3

Duke basketball once again dominated their opposition this week. Behind the stellar play of their freshmen, the Blue Devils won their games against Hartford (84-54) and Yale (91-58). Most notably, RJ Barrett combined for 57 points in these two games. The superstar freshman is now the leading scorer on the team at 24.2 points per game even if Zion Williamson is still the most highly-touted name on the team.

The play of this past week should not come as a surprise but more tests are on the way for Duke. In fact, after likely handling Princeton in their next game, the Blue Devils will take on a tough Texas Tech team on Dec. 20. They will then dive into ACC play, which is always an incredibly difficult conference to win in. This is especially true when you consider that Duke is not even the only top-10 team in the league (Virginia is the other).

As has been referenced on countless occasions early in this season, Duke could easily be the most talented team in the country and they could easily take over the top spot in these rankings within the next week. The Blue Devils, despite starting four freshmen, are playing beyond their years so far and should continue their hot start into the coming weeks.