Duke Basketball Enjoys Ranking Bump Despite Loss in Vegas

The stage is now set for one SEC/ACC Challenge showdown between teams sitting inside the top 10 of both polls released on Monday afternoon. Duke basketball, checking in at No. 9 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 Poll and USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, hosts the Auburn Tigers (7-0, 0-0 SEC), who rose to No. 2 in both polls, in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 9:15 p.m. ET Wednesday (ESPN).

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Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils (5-2, 0-0 ACC) saw a two-spot AP Poll jump despite their 75-72 loss to the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Duke rebounded with a 70-48 home win over the unranked Seattle Redhawks on Friday night.

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After the season's first four editions of the AP Poll included only two ACC programs in the Blue Devils and archrival UNC Tar Heels (4-3, 0-0), a third conference member joined the club this week, as Duke basketball alum Jeff Capel's Pitt Panthers (7-1, 0-0) made their debut at No. 18.

POLL ALERT: Kansas holds off Auburn for No. 1 in AP Top 25 as SEC grabs 3 of top 4 spots; 2-time defending champion UConn nearly out of poll.

Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsa pic.twitter.com/rENB6Z8P7s
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) December 2, 2024

As for the Tar Heels, who are in the midst of a two-game losing streak after falling to Auburn and the unranked Michigan State Spartans on consecutive days at the Maui Invitational last week, they dropped eight notches to No. 20 this week.

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