Duke is poised to snap Auburn’s eight-week stint at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll Monday after Auburn went 0-2 for the first time in a week since last January and Duke secured a perfect week highlighted by a road win over rival North Carolina on Saturday to extend its winning streak to eight games. The Blue Devils have hovered at No. 2 for five weeks during Auburn’s eight-week stretch at No. 1 while biding their time to pounce on a noteworthy Auburn slip-up, which Saturday’s loss to Alabama — Auburn’s second-straight after falling at Texas A&M on Tuesday — likely will qualify as.
It will make Duke the fourth team this college basketball season to earn the No. 1 ranking after Kansas, Tennessee and Auburn all enjoyed multi-week stints at various points occupying the top spot. It will serve as an arrival point for Duke under third-year coach Jon Scheyer as the first time it summits the rankings under his watch; its last ascension to No. 1 came in Week 4 of the 2021-22 season under then-head coach Mike Krzyzyewski.
That change isn’t likely the only significant shakeup coming Monday in the final rankings of the regular season. Florida, St. John’s and Michigan State are all positioned to potentially move up as well after Tennessee stumbled Wednesday.
Bracketology: Alabama contending for the fourth No. 1 after beating overall top seed Auburn
Jerry Palm
Below is how I project the AP Top 25 poll to shake out in our latest Tomorrow’s Top 25 Today.
Projected to drop out: Mississippi State
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