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NCAA Basketball: Duke rises in latest top 25 power rankings after crazy Saturday

By Tristan Freeman

Feb 26, 2022; Moraga, California, USA; Saint Mary's Gaels center Mitchell Saxen (10) celebrates with Gaels guard Tommy Kuhse (12) after the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at University Credit Union Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2022; Moraga, California, USA; Saint Mary's Gaels center Mitchell Saxen (10) celebrates with Gaels guard Tommy Kuhse (12) after the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at University Credit Union Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
NCAA Basketball Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Duke Blue Devils

As the only team in the top-7 of the AP poll to not lose a game, there’s a huge question as to where to put them. It’s not their fault how the schedule worked out but the lack of competition compared to the others hurt them a bit. That includes a dominant road win over Syracuse in what could be the last time Coach K takes on Jim Boeheim. The final score was 97-72, with three different players going for 20+, led by 28 points and 12 rebounds from Mark Williams.

The Blue Devils also got an even more impressive road win over Virginia earlier in the week, led by 15 points off the bench by Jeremy Roach. It was a close game all throughout and the Cavaliers were desperate for the victory for their NCAA Tournament hopes.

Duke now has two games left in the regular season, on the road at Pittsburgh and at home against rival North Carolina. Saturday gave this team life in terms of possibly getting the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament but they need to win out, including the ACC Tournament.

3. Arizona Wildcats

If it wasn’t for Oregon State being so dreadful, Utah’s miserable Pac-12 season would get more attention. It certainly got some this week when Arizona went on the road and dominate them, 97-77. All five starters were in double figures, led by Azuolas Tubelis with 23 points. But the star was Kerr Kriisa, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists for the triple-double.

But as it’s famously known, the Utah/Colorado road trip is arguably the toughest week in the country, with few teams able to win both. And that proved to be true once again, with Arizona falling flat in the second half to the Buffaloes. The final score was 79-63, with all five starters having awful games overall.

Unfortunately, Arizona wasn’t able to take advantage of Gonzaga’s loss, since losing to Colorado is worst than losing to Saint Mary’s. But the bid for a 1 seed is still on, with matchups against Stanford and Cal along with one last road trip to LA for a game with USC.

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