After the NBA draft withdrawal deadline passed, college basketball writer Andy Katz shared an updated Power 36, his ranking of the top three dozen teams in men’s college hoops.
Despite the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and multiple top transfers, Katz slid the Blue Devils all the way down to ninth in the rankings.
Duke, who opened the early projections as Joe Lunardi’s top overall seed for the early 2025 bracketology, didn’t even earn the top spot in the ACC in Katz’s rankings. North Carolina came in one spot above them in eighth.
CJ Moore of The Athletic also released an updated ranking on Thursday, and he also dropped Duke from his top five because of the team’s inexperience. Moore wrote that he believed in Duke’s ceiling but didn’t feel confident betting on freshmen.
Alabama took the top spot in Katz’s rankings, the same team that finished atop Moore’s rankings. Katz followed the Tide with Kansas, Gonzaga, Houston, and two-time defending champion Connecticut for the rest of his top five.
🚨 NEW #Power36 from @TheAndyKatz following the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline 👇
1. Alabama
2. Kansas
3. Gonzaga
4. Houston
5. UConn
6. Iowa State
7. Baylor
8. UNC
9. Duke
10. Purdue🗞️: https://t.co/ZfPGFuqZQ2 pic.twitter.com/1tRSAzWhyF
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 30, 2024
Baylor, the new home of former Duke senior captain Jeremy Roach, slotted in two spots ahead of the Blue Devils in seventh.