5. Duke (6-2)
Another prominent recruiting class means that Duke has a team loaded with young, raw talent. What they lack in experience they certainly make up in other ways, which has been evident at times this season. The Blue Devils dropped early games to Kansas and Kentucky and are still coming together as a total unit but had their best offensive performance of the season this week.
Playing as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge, the Blue Devils hosted Auburn on Wednesday night and got their best win of the season. Duke topped Auburn 84-78 in an exciting offensive affair. Cooper Flagg was brilliant with 22 points and 11 rebounds, playing well against a strong Tigers frontcourt, while Isaiah Evans hit six 3-pointers off the bench early in a spirited performance.
While the Blue Devils didn’t attend a holiday tournament, half of their first eight games have been against prominent opponents and they’ve looked good in each of those games. This win over Auburn should only grow in importance as the season progresses, while also representing a growing point for this young roster. They’ll be at Louisville on Sunday to kick off conference play before a few easy home tune-ups to finish nonconference play before New Year’s.