NCAA Basketball: Purdue, Duke, fall in latest top 25 power ranking
By Joey Loose
23. Duke (5-3)
A new season in Durham began with the usual heightened expectations, especially after the promise shown in Jon Scheyer’s first season last year. Important pieces were back, new freshmen had high upside, and the Blue Devils were ready to potentially win another ACC title. All of these goals still sit in front of them, but this past week was just dreadful for this Duke program.
The Blue Devils went on the road for the first time on Wednesday, playing at Arkansas as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Razorbacks defending their home court, handing Duke an 80-75 loss despite 26 points from Kyle Filipowski and 22 from Jeremy Roach. Duke then got ACC play started on Saturday with another road game and this one ended just the same. Georgia Tech prevailed 72-68 after building a halftime lead, surviving 20-point effort from Roach.
Outside of a Champions Classic win against a now unranked Michigan State team, there’s not much to get excited about from Duke’s November. Even a few of those home games against mid-majors weren’t exactly impressive. The good news is that the calendar still reads early December and there’s time for the Blue Devils to figure things out. This talented squad will be at home for a few weeks, beginning with next weekend’s showdown with Charlotte.