The Duke Blue Devils extended their win streak to five on Tuesday night, but a 21-point victory over the George Mason Patriots wasn’t enough to keep them in place in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.
The Blue Devils dropped one spot to third in the ESPN analytics on Wednesday, a likely byproduct of them failing to score 30 first-half points for the second straight game. Duke has held three of its last five opponents below 50 points, failing to surrender more than 78 in a game this season, but the offense has only mustered 74.0 points per game during the win streak. Freshman sensation [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] scored 24 points, his fifth 20-point outing of the season, but Duke shot just 37.5% as a team.
The Auburn Tigers vaulted up three spots to first, the same spot they occupy in the KenPom rankings, after their 41-point win over Georgia State. The Houston Cougars still sit second on ESPN’s board despite a trio of early losses.
The Blue Devils are projected to win 26.5 games during the regular season, meaning ESPN thinks Duke could close the year on a 17-3 or even 18-2 run.