2. Duke (17-2)
There’s a lot to love about what’s happening in Durham this season. The Blue Devils are leaning heavily on young talent and getting outstanding play from Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and a host of other talent. Jon Scheyer got this program to the Elite Eight last season but this crew looks even more special, especially with how they’ve been playing in recent weeks. Duke’s only losses came to Kansas and Kentucky way back in November and their winning streak shows no signs of stopping.
The Blue Devils did enough on Saturday in their lone game of the week, surviving a second half surge by the Demon Deacons to win 63-56 at Wake Forest. Flagg had 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists while Knueppel had 15 points and 9 rebounds, leading Duke to a 13th win in a row.
While Saturday may have ended up closer than expected, Duke didn’t panic, doing what they needed to do to keep winning in conference play. This team is now 9-0 in the ACC and has been mostly unchallenged, even beating some of the best teams in the conference away from home. There’s no guarantee that they can complete a perfect run through league play, but that certainly feels in the cards. They’re staying put in Durham next week, hosting rivals NC State and North Carolina with 11-0 right there for the taking.