Despite 12 consecutive victories, the Duke Blue Devils didn’t receive a first-place vote in Monday’s updated USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll.
However, [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and his teammates did rise one spot to No. 2 with 739 points in the voting, trailing only the Auburn Tigers.
Duke handed Auburn its only loss of the season to this point back in early December, but the Tigers haven’t yet dropped a game in a loaded SEC field. They took 30 of the 31 possible first-place nominations (No. 4 Iowa State took the final one).
The Blue Devils may not equal Auburn’s conference strength of schedule, but what Duke lacks in elite competition, it’s made up with massive margins of victory. The team from Durham has won nine of its last dozen games by more than 20 points, beating Miami and Boston College by a combined 60 in last week’s games.
The Louisville Cardinals nearly joined Duke in the top 25, first in the receiving votes column with 43 points, but the Blue Devils remain the conference’s only representative.
Check out the complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll below.
| Ranking | Team | Record | Points | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | 17-1 | 774 (30) | – |
| 2 | Duke | 16-2 | 739 | +1 |
| 3 | Alabama | 15-3 | 672 | +2 |
| 4 | Iowa State | 15-2 | 668 (1) | –2 |
| 5 | Houston | 14-3 | 623 | +3 |
| 6 | Florida | 16-2 | 615 | -2 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 16-2 | 584 | -1 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 16-2 | 558 | +4 |
| 9 | Kentucky | 14-4 | 478 | – |
| 10 | Marquette | 15-3 | 473 | -3 |
| 11 | Kansas | 13-4 | 467 | -1 |
| 12 | Purdue | 15-4 | 452 | +3 |
| 13 | Texas A&M | 14-4 | 383 | -2 |
| 14 | Mississippi State | 15-3 | 341 | +4 |
| 15 | Oregon | 15-3 | 309 | -1 |
| 16 | Ole Miss | 15-3 | 272 | +5 |
| 17 | Illinois | 13-5 | 266 | +3 |
| 18 | UConn | 13-5 | 230 | -5 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 15-3 | 194 | +8 |
| 20 | Michigan | 14-4 | 180 | -1 |
| 21 | St. John’s | 16-3 | 167 | +5 |
| 22 | Memphis | 14-4 | 130 | -5 |
| 23 | West Virginia | 13-4 | 107 | +2 |
| 24 | Missouri | 15-3 | 77 | +14 |
| 25 | Texas Tech | 13-4 | 53 | +8 |
Dropped Out
No. 16 Gonzaga; No. 22 Utah State; No. 23 Georgia; No. 24 Baylor
Receiving Votes
Louisville 43; Gonzaga 43; Georgia 39; Clemson 28; Utah State 26; Saint Mary’s 25; Vanderbilt 16; Oklahoma 16; Maryland 8; Creighton 7; Arizona 6; UCLA 2; UC Irvine 2; Baylor 2;