Tag: College basketball power rankings

Duke rises to fourth in Andy Katz’s college basketball power rankings

The Duke Blue Devils moved one spot closer to No. 1 in Andy Katz’s latest college basketball power rankings on Monday.

The Duke Blue Devils haven’t lost in December, and the six-game win streak moved them up to fourth in the latest college basketball power rankings from national analyst Andy Katz.

The Blue Devils defeated Georgia Tech on the road this Saturday, their second conference win of the season on freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag]’s 18th birthday. The forward finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and two assists in the 26-point win, but he’s still managed at least 20 points in three of Duke’s last five outings.

“He’s already one of the five best players this season,” Katz wrote about Flagg.

The Auburn Tigers, despite their loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium three weeks ago, returned to the top spot over the undefeated Tennessee Volunteers. Iowa State was the only other team Katz put above the Blue Devils, and no other ACC team made his top 20.

The Cameron Crazies won’t see this Duke team again until New Year’s Eve when the Blue Devils host Virginia Tech.

Andy Katz moves the Duke Blue Devils within top five of his basketball power rankings

The Duke Blue Devils finally found their way back into the top five of Andy Katz’s power rankings for men’s college basketball.

The Duke Blue Devils have won four straight games to build an 8-2 resume, and college basketball analyst Andy Katz now considers [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and his teammates a top-five team in the country once again.

Katz released his weekly power rankings on Monday, and the Blue Devils shuffled up one spot to No. 5 despite a meandering victory over Incarnate Word last Tuesday.

“Duke has done a tremendous job of beating the teams soundly that it should,” Katz wrote. “The ACC is Duke’s to lose.”

The Blue Devils pulled away from the Cardinals in the second half to end up with a 26-point victory by the time the buzzer sounded, their fifth 20-point win of the season. Duke outscored Louisville 43-28 after halftime in its first ACC game of the season, and its 84-78 victory over the Auburn Tigers is one of the nation’s best wins in 2024-25.

The Tigers stayed second on Katz’s board behind the Tennessee Volunteers, and Iowa State and the Kentucky Wildcats followed suit in the same order as the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll.

The Clemson Tigers (No. 15) were the only other ACC team included among Katz’s top 37 teams.

Where are the Duke Blue Devils in Andy Katz’s latest basketball power rankings?

Were Duke’s wins over Auburn and Louisville enough to move them within the top five of Andy Katz’s latest power rankings?

The Duke Blue Devils made their strongest case yet for why they belong among the top basketball teams in the country last week, beating the Auburn Tigers at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday before a road comeback over the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday.

Despite the two impressive lines on the resume, however, national analyst Andy Katz needs to see more to put the Blue Devils back in the top five. In his updated Power 37 list on Monday, he only moved Duke up two spots to No. 6.

The Tennessee Volunteers vaulted into the top spot, the same place they occupy in every national ranking after their 8-0 start. The Tigers, Iowa State Cyclones, Marquette Golden Eagles, and Kentucky Wildcats all stayed above the Blue Devils.

The North Carolina Tar Heels entered the season as Duke’s biggest threat in the ACC title race, but after four UNC losses, Katz erased them from his extended rankings. In their place, the Clemson Tigers jumped up to No. 8 after their Kentucky upset.

Katz did list freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] as an early favorite for the All-America team. The 17-year-old forward earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors again after he averaged 21.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals against the Tigers and Cardinals.

College basketball analyst keeps Duke Blue Devils within top 10 in updated power rankings

Despite two losses already on their resume this season, the Duke Blue Devils stuck within the top 10 in Andy Katz’s weekly power rankings.

The Duke men’s basketball team and its fans probably hoped for a perfect start to the 2024-25 season, but two losses against the Blue Devils’ early schedule isn’t disqualifying by any means. College basketball analyst Andy Katz certainly feels that way as he kept Duke eighth in his updated Power 37 rankings on Monday.

Duke’s two neutral-site losses came by five points to the Kentucky Wildcats and by three points to the Kansas Jayhawks, two powerhouse programs that remain undefeated so far this season. The Blue Devils sat tied with Kentucky and one point behind Kansas with 20 seconds left on the clock, only falling thanks to some late turnovers from their freshman starters.

“The Blue Devils are close to finishing off elite teams and will get another test this week,” Katz wrote.

Katz put the Jayhawks second and the Wildcats fifth in his rankings.

The upcoming chance Katz referred to won’t be any easier, however. The Auburn Tigers come to Durham for a Wednesday night game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and they actually jumped Kansas for Katz’s top overall spot after the Maui Invitational last week. Through their first seven games, the Tigers have stacked wins against the Houston Cougars, Iowa State Cyclones, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Memphis Tigers.

Duke basketball opens the 2024-25 season third in the College Sports Wire power rankings

College Sports Wire released its 2024-25 men’s basketball power rankings on Monday, and the Blue Devils open the year as a top-three team.

College Sports Wire’s Andy Patton released his 2024-25 preseason men’s basketball power rankings ahead of Monday’s opening schedule, and he listed the Duke Blue Devils as the third-best team in the country.

“Jon Scheyer has an absolutely electric freshman class in Durham, headlined of course by top prospect [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag],” Patton wrote. “This team is deep, incredibly talented, and looks like a unit that has played together for a long time already. That’s a dangerous combination.”

Duke certainly looked the part of a national championship contender with its two exhibition performances, beating Lincoln 107-56 before taking down the Arizona State Sun Devils 103-47. Flagg scored 22 points in the first game, and fellow freshman [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] averaged 18.0 points while shooting better than 50% from 3-point range.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Houston Cougars were the only two teams above the Blue Devils in Patton’s rankings with the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Kansas Jayhawks rounding out the top five. The North Carolina Tar Heels, last year’s ACC regular-season champions, start the year in ninth.

Duke gets its season underway against Maine in a Monday night game on ACC Network.

College basketball analyst Andy Katz power ranks Texas, Sweet 16 teams

Texas checks in toward the top of the Andy Katz Sweet 16 power rankings.

The Texas Longhorns remain one of the best teams left in the NCAA Tournament. College basketball analyst Andy Katz ranked the Longhorns No. 3 out of the remaining 16 teams.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry and company survived the dangerous Penn State shooting attack winning 71-66. They did so without much help from the three-point line. The Longhorns shot a putrid 1-for-13 from long range adding to the degree of difficulty to pull off a win. Perhaps they earned style points by winning with far below average three point shooting.

Two No. 1 and 2 seeds have been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. No. 1 seed Purdue became just the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64-plus teams. No. 2 seed Arizona fell prey to Princeton, who advances to the Sweet 16. Kansas and Marquette fell out of contention in second round losses to Arkansas and Michigan State.

Here’s a look at how Andy Katz views the remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament.

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Texas ranks No. 4 in analyst Jeff Goodman’s hoops rankings

One college basketball analyst is taking note of Texas’ upward trajectory.

The Texas Longhorns are catching the attention of the college basketball world. A recent power ranking highlights Texas as one of the best teams in the country.

College basketball writer Jeff Goodman ranked the ‘Horns No. 4 in his latest poll.

The least surprising ranking puts the Purdue Boilermakers as the top team. Despite Saturday’s upset loss to Indiana, the team has stood head and shoulders above the rest of college basketball.

One of the more noteworthy rankings sees the Tennessee Volunteers fall to No. 12 in the rankings. Since thoroughly defeating Texas, the Vols have lost to Florida and narrowly defeated the struggling Auburn Tigers.

Texas leads all big 12 teams on the list. Four other teams make it into the Top 11 with Kansas (5), Iowa State (7), Kansas State (10) and Baylor (11) viewed in high regard.

The Longhorns will look to continue their upward trajectory on Monday as they battle Kansas at 8 pm CT on ESPN.

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CBS analyst ranks Texas basketball No. 1 in consecutive weeks

Texas ranks No. 1 in another individual college basketball poll.

Texas basketball is once again lonely at the top of another ranking. CBS writer Gary Parrish has Texas ranked as the No. 1 team in the country.

Another budding rival entered the Top 10. Purdue moved up to No. 7 is Parrish’s ranking following impressive 18-point win over No. 6 Gonzaga. Sunday’s win over No. 8 Duke was not factored into his rankings and could vault the Boilermakers higher.

As many recall, Purdue’s size advantage was too much for the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament. Matt Painter’s team eliminated Texas in the Round of 32 last year. In some ways, it was a revenge game for the Boilermakers who lost to Texas in 2018 and 2019.

The Creighton Bluejays improved to No. 5 in the ranking. Baylor and Kansas were not included in the Top 10. Here’s a look at the top of Parrish’s rankings.