4. Duke Blue Devils - 10-2
It has not been a very good year for the ACC to this point, with only one team being worthy of being ranked. But Duke has arguably the best win of any team to this point, beating Auburn at home in the SEC/ACC Challenge. They also have wins over Arizona and both Louisville and Georgia Tech to open league play.
As expected, the star of the Blue Devils is Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 freshman in the class and presumptive future top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He leads the team with 16.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg, and 3.5 apg, along with ranking as one of the top individual defenders in NCAA Basketball.
The other five-star freshmen have had an impact, including Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach, and Isaiah Evans, who has been in the rotation more as of late. Transfers Maliq Brown and Sion James have been solid in the rotation, while Tyrese Proctor (11.8 ppg) is their best shooter at 42% from three-point range.
Duke is now the heavy favorite to win the ACC regular-season title but will get everyone’s best shot the rest of the way. Their next opponent is Virginia Tech at home, followed by an intriguing road matchup at SMU, who is also 2-0 to start out league play.
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