NCAA Basketball: Arizona, Duke, and San Diego State rises in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
16. Duke (9-3)
Elite talent at Duke is nothing new, with Jon Scheyer stepping right into this program and continuing its success. There’s a lot to like about this Blue Devils roster, though pure talent alone isn’t the only important thing. The Blue Devils have struggled at times this season to play cohesively, already dropping a pair of road games and that game against Arizona back in early November. How will the future unfold for a program that really pulled together late last season?
The Blue Devils returned to the court on Saturday after a ten-day break and got a fourth straight win, handling Queens 106-69. It was Duke’s highest offensive output of the season and a nice bow on the end of nonconference play. Jared McCain continued his impressive freshman season with 24 points while Kyle Filipowski had 19 points and 5 blocks against the Royals.
With Duke not playing in a holiday tournament we didn’t get to see them in many major opportunities, though wins over Baylor and Michigan State are still great wins. They enter ACC certainly in position to win the league again, especially with the talent they’ve assembled, even beyond the few names we mentioned. They’ll certainly have to figure out how to win on the road, starting at Notre Dame next weekend.