The Duke Blue Devils became the latest number one team to lose after being upset by Stephen F. Austin at home on Tuesday night in overtime.
We’re approaching the fifth week of the 2019-20 NCAA Basketball season and we will have our fourth different team top the Associated Press Top 25.
The Duke Blue Devils streak of 150 straight home wins against non-conference opponents was snapped after they were upset 85-83 at Cameron Indoor Stadium by Stephen F. Austin. But where will that leave them on the rankings?
Previous number ones Michigan State (lost to Kentucky) and Kentucky (lost to Evansville) were unable to hold on to the top spot for a full week. The Wildcats losing to the Walter McCarty-led Evansville team is more in-line with Mike Krzyzewski’s team’s loss, and a better model for guessing their new position on the poll.
Coach Cal’s team dropped eight spots in the next week’s rankings. A similar fall is in store for the Blue Devils. Falling down the rankings is commonplace for teams at the top that lose to unranked opponents. The fact that Stephen F. Austin is a non Power-5 team makes it even more shocking of a defeat, especially for a perennial contender like Duke.
Stephen F. Austin went into Durham after losing by 12 points to Rutgers (their only loss of the season to date). A strong performance from their upperclassmen helped make the upset against Duke possible. Senior guard, Kevon Harris, the team’s leading scorer, poured in 26 points to pace the Lumberjacks. Juniors Cameron Johnson and Gavin Kesmil combined to score 31 points.
Duke has embraced the “one-and-done” strategy and in last night’s game their lack of experience hurt them. They don’t have a Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, Marvin Bagley, Brandon Ingram type of player on this team, though freshman center Vernon Carey Jr. has been their best player (20 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes). However, he was not on the floor for the team’s final possession.
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1199546731958063104
Coach K’s veterans didn’t offer much help as his juniors and seniors only contributed four points, five assists and seven rebounds in 49 minutes.
If the first month of play has shown us anything it’s that there is no one dominant team in college basketball this season. Things are truly wide open and the mantra that any team can lose at any time is coming to fruition early this year. When mid majors are going into storied arenas like Cameron Indoor and Rupp Arena and walking out victorious it’s clear that we’re in for a wild ride.
Projected AP Top 10
- Louisville
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Virginia
- Gonzaga
- North Carolina
- Kentucky
- Ohio State
- Duke
- Oregon