The Duke Blue Devils moved up five spots to No. 4 in the Week 6 AP Poll, and according to a recent men’s college basketball trend, that keeps the team on the short list for national title contenders.
Each of the last 20 national champions were within the top 12 of the Week 6 AP Poll, a trend stretching all the way back to 2003-04. If the tea leaves come through again, one of the following teams will cut down the nets:
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Auburn Tigers
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Duke Blue Devils
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Marquette Golden Eagles
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Florida Gators
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Oregon Ducks
Eager-eyed Cameron Crazies will notice the Blue Devils are the only ACC team included on that list. The North Carolina Tar Heels dropped from the top 25 after four early losses, and the Clemson Tigers just missed the cut at No. 16 despite a recent upset of Kentucky.
[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag]’s recent form sure makes any national championship conversations look rational. The superstar freshman averaged 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds against Auburn and Louisville last week, earning him his third ACC Rookie of the Week award a little more than a month into the season, and he leads the Blue Devils in four of the five major statistical categories.