10. Duke (5-2)
Had things turned out a little differently, we might be talking about these Blue Devils as one of the best teams in the nation. This young lineup is dripping with talent and we’re not just talking about potential top draft pick Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils showed up for a big road win over Arizona, but fell just short once again this past week.
That disappointment happened in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, as Duke fell 75-72 against top-ranked Kansas in an intense battle. Tyrese Proctor led the charge with 15 points as the Blue Devils shot 50% from the floor in the close loss. Still in Vegas, this team got back on track on Friday, winning 70-48 against Seattle. Proctor had 13 points to lead a balanced scoring attack in a game where Duke didn’t shoot as well but had another efficient defensive effort.
Young talent needs time to gel and become more consistent, but this team is playing hard on defense, giving up less than 60 points in four of their five wins this season. Those losses to Kentucky and Kansas are disappointing but show that this young team can hang with the big dogs this season and just might be one of them down the stretch. Fortunately, they get a third shot at an elite team as Auburn comes to town for the ACC/SEC Challenge this week.