NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga, Kansas drops, Duke, UNC rises in latest top 25 power ranking

20. Duke – 14-5 (5-3 ACC)

After losing on the road at Clemson last week, the Blue Devils had just one game this past week. But it was an important one, taking on the Miami Hurricanes in a battle for ACC positioning in the standings. Miami has one of the best backcourts in the country, while Duke’s has been a question mark, to say the least.

But the Blue Devils did get a major boost in the return of Jeremy Roach, who had missed the past couple of weeks with a toe issue. While he’s not perfect, Duke needs the veteran playmaker to provide a scoring punch and to balance out the offense alongside the frontcourt.

Roach played 27 minutes and scored 14 points off the bench on 6/10 shooting. Freshman Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Tyrese Proctor had 11 points on three made three-pointers. In the end, Duke managed to squeak out a 68-66 victory to get back into the NCAA Basketball power rankings.

With Roach back to being on the court, this could be a time for the Blue Devils to make a run in the ACC. But they’ll have to do it on the road this upcoming week, taking on Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, two teams that each have one conference win in league play.