Tag: 2024-25 Basketball Power Rankings

Duke basketball starts fifth in Andy Katz’s preseason 2024-25 power rankings

Duke begins the year outside of the top five in the AP Poll, but one prominent national analyst thinks the Blue Devils are a top-five team.

The Duke Blue Devils failed to crack the top five of the preseason AP Poll, but one prominent national analyst thinks that top-ranked Cooper Flagg and his teammates are among the country’s upper echelon.

Andy Katz released his preseason power rankings on Monday, and he had the Blue Devils fifth behind only the Alabama Crimson Tide, Kansas Jayhawks, Gonzaga Bulldogs, and Connecticut Huskies.

All four teams also start the year above Duke in the AP Poll, but Katz isn’t as high on the Houston Cougars and Iowa State Cyclones. They start the year in sixth and seventh, respectively.

Katz does agree that the Blue Devils are the team to beat in the ACC. He put the North Carolina Tar Heels ninth, the same spot that UNC finished in the preseason AP Poll. Scheyer swept his in-state rival during his first season before losing both games last year, so 2024-25 will serve as a tiebreaker of sorts.

Katz didn’t include any other ACC teams in his top 25, but the Clemson Tigers (26th) and Wake Forest Demon Deacons (31st) make the complete list.