After their 75-72 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks on Tuesday night, the Duke Blue Devils slipped down to fifth in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings produced by KenPom.
Despite two losses in three ranked games, the adjusted efficiency margin still believes in Jon Scheyer’s team. The Duke offense slipped from the top 10 as the Blue Devils are now averaging 118.1 adjusted points per 100 possessions, but they still measure out as the best defense in the country.
Coincidentally, the Jayhawks and Kentucky Wildcats, the two teams that beat Duke already this season, remain below the Blue Devils. Kansas only rose to seventh while the Wildcats remain 12th.
The Auburn Tigers, who come to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a December 4 game, now sit atop the perch as KenPom’s top team in the country. The Tigers took down the Houston Cougars, who started the season in first, before beating the Iowa State Cyclones and North Carolina Tar Heels in Maui.
Gonzaga, Houston, and the Tennessee Volunteers are the only other teams above Duke. UNC, also with two losses already this year, now sits 13th.