After a 29-point victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers on Tuesday night, the Duke men’s basketball team finally did enough to sit atop the KenPom rankings.
The Blue Devils spent the first two months of the season chasing the Auburn Tigers and their prolific offense, but as of Wednesday morning, Duke’s +36.73 net efficiency rating finally usurped the Tigers’ +36.64.
The Blue Devils have deserved credit for their defense all season, allowing 65 points or fewer in 12 of their first 15 games. Only three of Duke’s opponents have shot better than 40% from the field, resulting in a defensive efficiency rating of 86.1 points allowed per 100 possessions (which leads the nation).
However, Duke’s offensive improvement over the past four games closed the gap on Auburn more than anything. The Blue Devils have put 83.8 points per game on the board since December 21, a far cry from their 73.0 points per game from November 22 through December 17, to break back into KenPom’s top 10 offenses.
Auburn still leads the country by nearly six points per 100 possessions with an offensive rating of 131.1, but the 19th-ranked defense can’t keep them ahead of the Blue Devils anymore. The Houston Cougars are the only other team with a differential above +31.0.