Thoughts on the AP Poll: Duke climbs to No. 2 as turmoil continues in SEC

It was a chaotic week of college basketball, and the Blue Zone is here to recap all the major changes in the AP Poll:

Celebration up north

Duke had a great week, starting with an 80-62 road victory against Virginia Monday. Three freshman Blue Devils — Isaiah Evans, Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel — scored 17 points, while a fellow rookie, Patrick Ngongba II, had the best game of his young college career. The real test came Saturday against a reeling Illinois squad in Madison Square Garden, a venue Duke has historically dominated in. As one of the only remaining Quad 1 opportunities for the Blue Devils, head coach Jon Scheyer’s team capitalized and then some, earning a 110-67 victory against the Fighting Illini. It was such a romp that Scheyer was able to empty his bench, meaning every player on the roster (save for the injured Maliq Brown) played at least one minute.

With these two wins, Duke moved up one spot to No. 2, switching spots with Florida. The Blue Devils also extended their stay in the top five to 12 weeks, their longest such streak since the 2018-19 season. While Illinois has not been itself recently thanks in part to a team illness, Duke clearly did enough with what it was given to secure high marks in the minds of the voters.

SEC shakeups

This year’s SEC has received serious consideration as one of the best single-season college basketball conferences ever. Unfortunately for its programs, that means a near-guaranteed brutal stretch of conference play. Take Alabama, for instance, which lost 110-98 against Missouri in a heavyweight contest Wednesday. Former Blue Devil Mark Mitchell, now playing for the Tigers, had the best game of his college career against the Crimson Tide, scoring 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting. However, Saturday brought more chaos, as Alabama beat then-No. 17 Kentucky 96-83 while Missouri was upset by Arkansas 92-85. The Crimson Tide dropped two spots down to No. 6, while the Tigers rose to No. 14.

Texas A&M had a gauntlet of a week, taking on then-No. 21 Mississippi State Tuesday and then-No. 6 Tennessee Saturday. The Aggies fell in a road contest to the Bulldogs 70-54, with the away team committing as many turnovers as field goals made (19). Four days later, and despite the benefit of a home crowd against the Volunteers, Tennessee pulled away late to secure a 77-69 victory. The Aggies dropped to No. 12 in this week’s AP Poll while the Volunteers rose one spot to No. 5.

Saturday was rough for Mississippi-based teams, as Mississippi State and then-No. 24 Ole Miss both fell to unranked squads — Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, respectively. The Sooners emerged victorious against the Bulldogs thanks in part to a fantastic performance from freshman guard Jeremiah Fears, who scored 27 points and added 10 assists. Meanwhile for the Commodores, senior guard Chris Manon scored seven critical points in the final five minutes to help Vanderbilt pull away from the Rebels. Mississippi State dropped three spots to No. 24, while Mississippi was the second team out. Overall, the SEC paced this week’s poll with eight teams ranked.

Full rankings

1. Auburn          
2. Duke      
3. Florida           
4. Houston  
5. Tennessee       
6. Alabama 
7. St. John's (NY)  
8. Michigan State  
9. Iowa State
10. Texas Tech      
11. Wisconsin
12. Texas A&M
13. Clemson        
14. Missouri          
15. Michigan        
16. Maryland       
17. Kentucky        
18. Memphis         
19. Louisville         
20. Purdue        
21. Marquette
22. Arizona         
23. Saint Mary’s          
24. Mississippi State
25. BYU