The Duke Blue Devils picked up their first top-25 victory of the 2024-25 season on Friday night, a 69-55 road triumph over Caleb Love and the Arizona Wildcats, and they stuck within the top five of the KenPom rankings as a result.
As of Sunday morning, the popular analytics site ranked Duke as the fourth-best team in the country. While the Blue Devils have fallen outside of the top 10 in offensive efficiency, they took over the top spot in defensive efficiency thanks to their last two suffocating performances.
Duke held Wofford to 35 points, a program record in the shot-clock era, last Saturday, and the Blue Devils are allowing 87.3 adjusted points per 100 defensive possessions.
The KenPom metrics actually have Duke above No. 1 Kansas, its next opponent. Despite sitting atop every national ranking, the Jayhawks are just eighth in the adjusted efficiency margin. Only the Houston Cougars, Auburn Tigers, and Gonzaga Bulldogs remain ahead of the Blue Devils.