Duke opened its season ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 but a three-game winning streak out of the gate highlighted by a win over No. 10 Kentucky has voters already changing their tune. The Blue Devils were one of the biggest risers in Monday’s poll as a result, moving up two spots to No. 7 in the poll. They tied with Michigan, which moved from No. 6 to No. 4, as the biggest riser in the top 10.
The Blue Devils’ 79-71 win to open the season over the Wildcats was one of the more impressive debuts by a team this season. Led by freshmen Paolo Banchero and Trevor Keels, who combined for 47 points, they looked the part of a real contender. They remain the only ACC team in the top 10 this week.
Kentucky followed up its loss to Duke with a 40-point win over Robert Morris which may have helped its standing among voters. It dropped only three spots to No. 13 in this week’s poll, one spot ahead of SEC foe Alabama, three ahead of Arkansas and four ahead of Tennessee.
Heree’s the entire AP Top 25 with first-place votes in parenthesis.
1. Gonzaga (55)
2. UCLA (6)
3. Kansas
4. Michigan
5. Villanova
6. Purdue
7. Duke
8. Texas
9. Baylor
10. Illinois
11. Memphis
12. Oregon
13. Kentucky
14. Alabama
15. Houston
16. Arkansas
17. Tennessee
18. North Carolina
19. Ohio St.
20. Maryland
21. Auburn
22. St. Bonaventure
23. UConn
24. Florida
25. Southern Cal
Others receiving votes: Virginia Tech 50, Indiana 35, Texas Tech 27, BYU 26, Michigan St. 18, Arizona 15, Florida St. 15, Colorado St. 15, Iowa 13, Xavier 12, Syracuse 12, Oklahoma St. 10, Seton Hall 7, Rutgers 7, Mississippi St. 6, St. John’s 4, Drake 3, LSU 3, Furman 2, Virginia 2, Ohio 1, Loyola Chicago 1
