The Duke men’s basketball team lost its second game of the season last Tuesday, a 75-72 neutral-site loss to No. 1 Kansas, but coaches around the country didn’t seem particularly concerned with the performance.
The Blue Devils rose one spot to No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll on Monday, making them both the highest-ranked ACC team and the highest two-loss team in the standings.
The Jayhawks, still undefeated after they held off [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and his teammates down the stretch, maintained their hold atop the board with 19 first-place votes. However, after wins over the Iowa State Cyclones and North Carolina Tar Heels in Maui, the Auburn Tigers earned 12 first-place votes to close ground on Kansas.
Auburn, of course, comes to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday for Duke’s fourth top-25 opponent in six games. The Blue Devils are 1-2 in ranked battles so far this season, but they’re 4-0 at home and haven’t won a game in Durham by fewer than 22 points.
The Tennessee Volunteers, Marquette Golden Eagles, and Iowa State Cyclones followed Auburn within the top five. The Tar Heels, with two losses in Maui to drop down to 4-3 for the year, nearly dropped from the rankings at No. 22.
Check out the complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll below.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 7-0 | 760 (19) |
| 2 | Auburn | 7-0 | 755 (12) |
| 3 | Tennessee | 7-0 | 694 |
| 4 | Marquette | 8-0 | 646 |
| 5 | Iowa State | 5-1 | 629 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 7-0 | 628 |
| 7 | Purdue | 7-1 | 535 |
| 8 | Gonzaga | 7-1 | 517 |
| 9 | Duke | 5-2 | 472 |
| 10 | Oregon | 8-0 | 457 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 8-0 | 450 |
| 12 | Alabama | 6-2 | 441 |
| 13 | Florida | 8-0 | 427 |
| 14 | Cincinnati | 6-0 | 376 |
| 15 | Memphis | 6-1 | 265 |
| 16 | Baylor | 5-2 | 262 |
| 17 | Illinois | 6-1 | 234 |
| 18 | Houston | 4-3 | 221 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh | 7-1 | 213 |
| 20 | Ole Miss | 6-1 | 139 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 7-0 | 111 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 4-3 | 96 |
| 23 | Michigan | 6-1 | 90 |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 6-2 | 86 |
| 25 | Michigan State | 6-2 | 73 |
Dropped Out
No. 2 UConn; No. 15 Indiana; No. 19 Creighton; No. 21 Arkansas; No. 22 Xavier; No. 23 Arizona
Receiving Votes
UConn 63; San Diego State 56; Texas 54; Mississippi State 39; Arizona State 39; Drake 34; Texas Tech 32; Arkansas 28; UCLA 17; Xavier 16; BYU 16; Ohio State 15; Utah State 13; Saint Mary’s 12; Dayton 10; St. John’s 8; Nebraska 8; Indiana 8; Creighton 8; West Virginia 5; Maryland 5; Clemson 5; Georgia 3; Arizona 2; UC Irvine 1; Nevada 1