The Duke men’s basketball team has won all five of its games in December, building a 10-2 record with multiple statement wins on the resume, and coaches around the country keep moving the Blue Devils closer to the top of the country.
Duke moved up one spot to No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll on Tuesday, trailing only the Tennessee Volunteers, Auburn Tigers, and Iowa State Cyclones.
The Blue Devils beat Auburn at Cameron Indoor Stadium three weeks ago, but the Tigers beat Houston and Iowa State earlier in the year to overcome that head-to-head disadvantage. The Volunteers still haven’t lost a game, but the Tigers drew 11 out of a possible 31 first-place votes anyway.
Duke, led by superstar freshman forward [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], is the only multi-loss team within the top five, a testament to the national belief in its talent.
The Kentucky Wildcats, who beat the Blue Devils in the third game of the season, stumbled six spots down to No. 10 after a 20-point loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, and no other ACC team made the rankings after two recent Clemson Tigers losses.