The Duke Blue Devils notched their best win of the season on Wednesday night, an 84-78 triumph over the previously undefeated No. 2 Auburn Tigers, to remain analytical darlings in the men’s college basketball world.
As of Thursday morning, the Blue Devils moved up to third in the KenPom rankings. The popular analytics website measures points scored and allowed per 100 possessions while adjusting for strength of opponent, and the Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers are the only two teams in the country with a better differential than Duke.
The Blue Devils entered Wednesday’s game with the best defensive efficiency in the country, and after they held the electric Auburn offense under 80 points, they remained atop that category on Thursday. Duke has allowed 88.8 adjusted points per 100 possessions.
[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and his teammates made a leap on the offensive end, however. After three straight games under 80 points, Duke finally broke that barrier thanks to six first-half 3-pointers from freshman Isaiah Evans. The Blue Devils returned to the top 10 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 119.4 points per 100 possessions.
The Volunteers, undefeated through eight games, are the only other team within the top 10 on both sides of the ball.
The North Carolina Tar Heels, after losing their third straight game on Wednesday night, slipped down to No. 24 in the website’s rankings.