Duke Basketball Matches Its Highest Ranking This Season

Duke basketball has hovered around No. 5 in the AP Top 25 Poll across the first month of the season. That remained the case on Monday afternoon, as the Blue Devils (7-0, 0-0 ACC) now check in at No. 4 in the country after falling one spot to No. 5 last week.

Jon Scheyer's fourth Duke squad, fresh off its combined 193 points in blowout home wins over the Howard Bison and Niagara Purple Eagles in the Brotherhood Run over the weekend, began its campaign ranked No. 6 overall. The Blue Devils' one-notch climb this week was due to the previously No. 3-ranked UConn Huskies' 71-67 home loss to the now-No. 2 Arizona Wildcats last week.

UConn fell to No. 5, now appearing below the Blue Devils, the No. 3 Houston Cougars, the Wildcats, and the top-ranked Purdue Boilermakers.

Once again, Duke is one of four ranked ACC squads. The Louisville Cardinals remain at No. 6 in the latest poll. The UNC Tar Heels jumped two spots to No. 16. And the NC State Wolfpack also rose two places, now sitting at No. 23, but lost to the unranked Seton Hall Pirates, 85-74, in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational on Monday afternoon, just hours after the poll was released.

Duke basketball center Patrick Ngongba II — Nov 23, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba II (21) dunks during the second half against the Howard Bison at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

In addition to the victories over the Bison and Purple Eagles, extending Duke's season-long streak of wins by double-digit margins, the Blue Devils improved their resume via a 78-66 win over the then-No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks on Tuesday night, part of the Champions Classic in Madison Square Garden.

Kansas is no longer ranked. In fact, none of Duke's opponents thus far appear in this week's AP Top 25.

But each of the Blue Devils' next three games are against teams with a ranking by their name.

Those upcoming big-time tests for the high-powered Duke basketball collection begin with a battle against the now-No. 22 Arkansas Razorbacks in the CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic in Chicago's United Center at 8 p.m. ET Thursday (CBS).

Then the Blue Devils welcome the defending national champion Florida Gators, who stayed put at No. 10 this week, to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a highly anticipated ACC/SEC Challenge showdown at 7:30 p.m. ET next Tuesday night (ESPN) before heading to East Lansing, Mich., to square off against the Michigan State Spartans, up six spots to No. 11, at noon ET on Dec. 6 (FOX).

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