Duke remained in the No. 21 spot in the AP top 25 following its decisive victory against Hofstra Tuesday. The Blue Zone breaks down the movement in the poll after a week of dynamic games:
Duke remains at No. 21
The Blue Devils aced their game against the Pride, delivering a 89-68 win at home in Cameron Indoor Stadium. While traded shots and 3-point defensive struggles left Duke lagging early on, the Blue Devils embarked on a 7-0 run with two minutes left to close the first half with a lead. The momentum was all it needed to come out of the locker room fighting, and Duke inched ahead on the scoreboard throughout the second half to secure a 21-point victory.
Sophomore center Kyle Filipowski was arguably the star of the show, scoring 12 of Duke’s first 26 points and finishing the game with a season-high 28 points. However, the Blue Devils were careful not to play hero ball. Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell and Jared McCain also joined Filipowski in double-figures to help secure the win against Hofstra, while Filipowski and Roach became the first Duke duo in over a year to finish with eight or more assists each. Yet the Blue Devils’ defeat of the Pride, one of the better mid-majors in the country, ultimately failed to move them ahead in the poll.
A new No.1
Saturday’s matchup between then-No. 3 Purdue and then-No. 1 Arizona promised to be a spectacular game. Most fans didn’t expect the Boilermakers to run away with a 92-84 victory, but high scoring allowed Purdue to take an early lead and deliver the Wildcats their first loss of the season. Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, who scored 27 and 26 points respectively, were instrumental in the victory.
The matchup brought Arizona’s record to 8-1 while bumping up the Boilermakers to an impressive 10-1. The upset was enough to deliver Purdue the No. 1 spot in the poll, while Arizona fell three places and now sits at No. 4.
Other upsets shake the poll
Then-No. 6 Baylor fell to an unranked Michigan State, who jumped to a 28-point lead in the first half and then cruised to an 88-64 victory. Though the Spartans have struggled throughout their season — including dropping big non-conference games against Duke and Arizona — nearly everything went right in the matchup against the Bears. Michigan State recorded 15 steals, went 8-of-12 from three and a season-high field goal percentage of 63.3%. Baylor was unable to keep up with the Spartans’ quick scoring and left Detroit with a loss that pushed it down four spots in the poll. The Bears now head into Wednesday’s game against Duke ranked No. 10.
Then-No. 14 Kentucky also picked up a big win this weekend, inching ahead of then-No. 9 North Carolina with a 87-83 victory in a game that came down to the wire. While the Wildcats stayed ahead of the Tar Heels for more than 37 minutes, determined charges from both blue bloods kept the game’s result in question until the very end. Kentucky nabbed the victory by showcasing a new depth in its freshman, four of whom were top scorers. Thanks to their rotation versatility, the Wildcats held North Carolina to a notable 14 bench points and managed to walk away with the win. They now sit at No. 9 in the poll, while the Tar Heels have fallen to No. 11.
Full rankings
- Purdue
- Kansas
- Houston
- Arizona
- UConn
- Marquette
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- Baylor
- North Carolina
- Creighton
- Illinois
- Florida Atlantic
- Gonzaga
- Colorado State
- BYU
- Clemson
- Texas
- James Madison
- Duke
- Virginia
- Memphis
- Wisconsin
- Ole Miss
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Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.