Duke extended its winning streak to seven games Monday with a 93-60 blowout of Wake Forest that doubled as the Blue Devils’ 10th ACC victory by at least 25 points. That makes Duke the first Division I team to win at least 10 conference games by at least 25 points since UNLV did it in the Big West in the 1990-91 season.
Does that say more about Duke or the ACC?
Fair question!
My best answer is that Duke is legitimately great and would be elite in any version of any conference. But, yeah, this version of the ACC is pretty lackluster, evidence being that it only ranks as the sport’s fifth-best league, according to the NET, and is closer in the computers to Conference USA and the Atlantic 10 than it is to the SEC and Big Ten. That’s an unfortunate fact. There are 18 teams in the ACC — and half of them are ranked outside of the top 100 in the NET. That’s another unfortunate fact.
But enough about that!
It’s not Jon Scheyer’s job to keep the 17 other ACC programs strong. Rather, his only job is to annually assemble and develop one of college basketball’s best teams for Duke, and he’s clearly done that this season in part because of Cooper Flagg, the five-star freshman who got 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists against Wake Forest.
Scheyer’s Blue Devils are now 27-3 overall, 18-1 in the ACC and still No. 2 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. They can secure the outright ACC title with a win at North Carolina on Saturday — or if both Clemson and Louisville lose at least one of their next two games.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
BIGGEST MOVERS
RK
TEAMS
CHG
RCRD
1
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AUBURN Chad Baker-Mazara finished with 22 points and three steals in Saturday’s 94-78 win at Kentucky. The Tigers’ next game is Tuesday at Texas A&M. — 27-4
2
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DUKE Cooper Flagg finished with 28 points and seven assists in Monday’s 93-60 win over Wake Forest. The Blue Devils’ next game is Saturday at North Carolina. — 28-3
3
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HOUSTON L.J. Cryer finished with 22 points and three steals in Monday’s 65-59 win over Kansas. The Cougars’ next game is Saturday at Baylor. — 27-4
4
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TENNESSEE Chaz Lanier finished with 18 points and four rebounds in Saturday’s 79-76 win over Alabama. The Vols’ next game is Wednesday at Ole Miss. — 25-6
5
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ALABAMA Grant Nelson was 2-of-8 from the field in Saturday’s 79-76 loss at Tennessee. The Crimson Tide’s next game is Wednesday against Florida. — 24-7
6
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MICHIGAN ST. Jaden Akins finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in Sunday’s 71-62 win over Wisconsin. The Spartans’ next game is Thursday at Iowa. — 26-5
7
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FLORIDA Will Richard finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 89-70 win over Texas A&M. The Gators’ next game is Wednesday at Alabama. — 27-4
8
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ST. JOHN’S RJ Luis Jr. finished with 21 points and two steals in Saturday’s 71-61 win over Seton Hall. The Red Storm’s next game is Saturday at Marquette. — 27-4
9
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IOWA ST. Milan Momcilovic finished with 17 points and three assists in Saturday’s 84-67 win over Arizona. The Cyclones’ next game is Tuesday against BYU. — 23-8
10
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WISCONSIN Kamari McGee was 1-of-8 from the field in Sunday’s 71-62 loss at Michigan State. The Badgers’ next game is Wednesday at Minnesota. — 23-8
11
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TEXAS TECH JT Toppin finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday’s 78-73 win at Kansas. The Red Raiders’ next game is Wednesday against Colorado. — 24-7
12
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MICHIGAN Tre Donaldson was 4-of-12 from the field in Sunday’s 93-73 loss to Illinois. The Wolverines’ next game is Wednesday against Maryland. — 22-9
13
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PURDUE Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 29 points and three rebounds in Friday’s 76-66 win over UCLA. The Boilermakers’ next game is Tuesday against Rutgers. — 21-10
14
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TEXAS A&M Wade Taylor IV was 3 of 11 from the field in Saturday’s 89-70 loss at Florida. The Aggies’ next game is Tuesday against Auburn. — 22-9
15
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LOUISVILLE Terrence Edwards Jr. finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Saturday’s 79-68 win over Pitt. The Cardinals’ next game is Wednesday against California. — 25-6
16
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MARQUETTE David Joplin finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s 76-61 win over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles’ next game is Wednesday at UConn. — 22-9
17
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MISSOURI Jacob Crews was 1-of-5 from the field in Saturday’s 97-73 overtime loss at Vanderbilt. The Tigers’ next game is Wednesday at Oklahoma. — 21-10
18
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MISS. ST. Josh Hubbard finished with 30 points and four rebounds in Saturday’ 81-69 win over LSU. The Bulldogs’ next game is Tuesday against Texas. — 20-11
19
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CLEMSON Ian Schieffelin finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday’s 71-58 win at Virginia. The Tigers’ next game is Wednesday at Boston College. — 26-5
20
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MARYLAND Derik Queen finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 68-64 win at Penn State. The Terrapins’ next game is Wednesday at Michigan. — 24-7
21
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ARIZONA Caleb Love was 2 of 15 from the field in Saturday’s 84-67 loss at Iowa State. The Wildcats’ next game is Tuesday against Arizona State. — 20-11
22
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KENTUCKY Lamont Butler was 4 of 13 from the field in Saturday’s 94-78 loss to Auburn. The Wildcats’ next game is Tuesday against LSU. — 21-10
23
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SAINT MARY’S Augustus Marciulionis finished with 25 points and seven assists in Saturday’s 74-64 win over Oregon State. The Gaels’ next game is March 10 against a team to be determined in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament. — 28-5
24
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MEMPHIS Dain Dainja finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds in Sunday’s 88-81 win at UAB. The Tigers’ next game is Tuesday at UTSA. — 26-5
25
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OREGON Keeshawn Barthelemy finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Saturday’s 82-61 win over USC. The Ducks’ next game is Tuesday against Indiana. — 23-8
26
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OLE MISS Sean Pedulla finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Saturday’s 87-84 win over Oklahoma. The Rebels’ next game is Wednesday against Tennessee. — 21-10