The Duke Blue Devils remained second in the KenPom rankings after their Saturday victory over the SMU Mustangs, but [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and his teammates moved within striking distance of the Auburn Tigers for the No. 1 spot.
The Mustangs entered Saturday’s game with the ACC’s best offense, scoring 87.2 points per game during their 11-2 start, but the Blue Devils held them to 62 points for their lowest output of the year. Combine that with a Duke offense that broke the 80-point barrier for the third straight game, a first so far in 2024-25, and it seems like the team from Durham is taking a step forward.
KenPom tracks Duke as the third-best defense in the country and the No. 10 offense, one of two teams inside the top 10 on both ends of the floor (Iowa State is No. 8 on offense and defense).
It all adds up to a +35.08 adjusted scoring differential per 100 possessions, narrowly behind Auburn’s +36.69. As of Sunday, no other team has reached +33.00.
Pittsburgh, who comes to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, is currently the second-highest ACC team on KenPom’s board at No. 23. No other team in the conference cracked the top 30.