Duke Nears Top of Rankings After Stanford Win

The Duke basketball program improved to 17-1 overall and 6-0 in ACC play following a dominant 80-50 victory at Stanford (14-5, 3-3 ACC) on Saturday night. Duke became the second ACC squad to escape the West Coast road trip against Stanford and California (14-5, 2-4 ACC) with a 2-0 record since the programs joined the ACC last season.

Duke took down the Golden Bears 71-56 on Wednesday night. The only other squad to complete the two-game West Coast sweep is Wake Forest (11-7, 2-3 ACC), which did so in 2024-25.

Jan 17, 2026; Stanford, California, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Isaiah Evans (3) shoots against Stanford Cardinal forward Oskar Giltay (15) in the second half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

With the Stanford victory, the Blue Devils now improve to 8-1 in Quadrant 1 and 6-0 in true road games. Only No. 1 Arizona boasts seven Quad 1 victories, and only No. 3 UConn has an undefeated record on the road with at least six wins.

After No. 2 Iowa State dropped two in a row, both to unranked opponents, over the past week, the Blue Devils are primed to make a jump into the top five of the Associated Press Poll. Duke currently sits at No. 6, with its one loss coming on a neutral floor to No. 15 Texas Tech.

Duke Nears Top of NET Rankings After Latest Win

Jon Scheyer's program has now moved to No. 2 in the NCAA NET Rankings, only behind Michigan, which is 16-1 overall and 5-0 in Quadrant 1.

With a vastly improved ACC in 2025-26, the Blue Devils have had the opportunity to stack marquee wins and further cement their case to earn a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The NET Rankings are one of the most important metrics the committee uses to determine tournament seeding, and there arguably isn't a program with a better body of work than Duke.

The Blue Devils currently rank No. 3 overall at KenPom and No. 3 at EvanMiya.com.

Duke now enjoys an extended break from game time, with its next contest coming back at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Wake Forest on Jan. 24.

Jan 4, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Duke Blue Devils associate head coach Chris Carrawell reacts during the second half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Moody Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Duke Builds Momentum Out West

The Blue Devils put together one of their best all-around outings against a hot Cardinal squad, which was coming off a 95-90 victory over No. 14 North Carolina (14-4, 2-3 ACC).

After Stanford scored 95 points on 57% shooting from the field and 57% shooting from three against UNC, Duke limited it to 50 points, its second-lowest point total of the season, on 35% shooting from the floor and 24% shooting from the perimeter.

Home ACC attendance this season (west coast)

Stanford:
Duke- 7,880 (sellout)
UNC- 5,369
Louisville- 4,172
Notre Dame- 3,868

Cal:
Duke- 11,201 (sellout)
UNC- 8,077
Louisville- 6,012
Notre Dame- 5,158
— #DukeMBBStats (@DukeMBBStats) January 18, 2026

Duke shot 56% from the field and assisted on 16 of 28 made field goals, while forcing 18 Stanford turnovers that turned into 22 points for the Blue Devils. The Cardinal entered the matchup averaging 10.9 turnovers a game.

Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball news.

As always, make sure you stay up to date with all Duke content by following us on Facebook, by clicking HERE, and following us on X (formerly Twitter) HERE.