3. Duke (10-0)
Before this week, Duke was already answering many of the questions we had for them. It hasn’t even just been about elite freshmen Cameron Boozer, because some of the other faces on this young, talented roster are answering the bell as well. Duke looked great in wins over Texas, Kansas, and most recently against Arkansas on Thanksgiving, but this was certainly the best week of the season so far.
Tuesday saw the ACC/SEC Challenge in action, with Duke hanging on for a 67-66 win at home over defending champion Florida. Unsurprisingly, Boozer starred with 29 points and 6 rebounds while Isaiah Evans added 13 points, including the game-winning shot in the final minute. Saturday’s result impressed even further, as the Blue Devils went to Michigan State and came away with a 66-60 road win. Boozer had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Caleb Foster scored 12 points, and Duke flew to their 10th win.
Half of the Blue Devils’ wins have come against power conference foes and they all should be playing meaningful basketball by the time March rolls around. Duke is battle tested and keeps getting incredible work from Boozer on a daily basis. They’ll certainly hope for some better outside shooting, but for now it’s getting the job done. We won’t see this team in action again until December 16th and they have just one more challenging game before ACC play begins on New Year’s Eve.