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Projected college basketball rankings after Duke upset by Virginia in Cameron

By Cody Williams

Feb 7, 2022; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Reece Beekman(2) shoots a three-pointer over Duke Blue Devils forward Paolo Banchero (5) during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Cavaliers won 69-68. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 7, 2022; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Reece Beekman(2) shoots a three-pointer over Duke Blue Devils forward Paolo Banchero (5) during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Cavaliers won 69-68. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Duke came home after beating rival North Carolina and promptly got upset by Virginia to shake up the college basketball rankings moving forward. 

This past weekend, the Duke Blue Devils made a tremendous statement. On the road in Chapel Hill against their biggest rivals, UNC, the Mike Krzyzewski farewell tour looked to be heading towards big things as they blew out the Tar Heels. Then it was back home on Monday for a matchup against a down Virginia Cavaliers team.

Duke, however, came out flat on Monday night and was getting pushed from the opening tip. They trailed at halftime but managed to take the lead late. They needed a stop up by two points to secure the home win, though. Instead, UVA’s Reece Beekman rose up from the left wing and drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers up one.

Paolo Banchero gave the Blue Devils one last desperation attempt to win, but it was to no avail as Duke suffered their fourth loss of the season, this one coming at home in Cameron. Now, we have to see if they drop out of the top 10 of the college basketball rankings or not.

College basketball rankings: Projections after Duke upset by Virginia

  1. Auburn Tigers
  2. Gonzaga Bulldogs
  3. Purdue Boilermakers
  4. Arizona Wildcats
  5. Kentucky Wildcats
  6. Houston Cougars
  7. Kansas Jayhawks
  8. Texas Tech Red Raiders
  9. Baylor Bears
  10. Providence Friars
  11. Duke Blue Devils
  12. UCLA Bruins
  13. Illinois Fighting Illini
  14. Wisconsin Badgers
  15. Villanova Wildcats

If this were a typical year in the ACC, then a loss to UVA in any capacity honestly wouldn’t matter all that much at all. But the Cavaliers have been substantially less impressive this year, which makes Duke losing at home in this manner a bit more impactful on the rankings.

I have the Blue Devils dropping out of the top 10, though that’s not a guarantee. Admittedly, that has something to do with the fact that I believe Providence should be ranked higher than they currently are, so giving them the bump into the top 10 fits what I believe should happen.

Regardless, these types of losses happen to the best of teams in power conference play. As such, this isn’t something Coach K’s team should sweat all too much. They’ll be just fine.

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