Duke projected AP Top 25 ranking after coming up short against Clemson

There's no such thing as a normal Saturday in college basketball.

Hours after the No. 1-ranked Auburn Tigers fell to Florida, the No. 2-ranked Duke Blue Devils saw their chance to be the top-ranked team in the country... and fumbled, losing to the Clemson Tigers, 77-71.

The loss snaps a 15-game win streak for Duke, which stayed in the game late thanks to two massive Cooper Flagg 3-pointers. But down two with under 20 seconds left, Flagg slipped and was called for a travel, which effectively ended the game.

For Clemson, this is a monster win. The Tigers now know they can compete — and beat — the best teams in the ACC. In fact, the Tigers know they are one of the best teams in the ACC. Now 11-2 in conference play and 19-5 on the season, an NCAA Tournament berth is nearly a guarantee, barring an ultimate collapse down the stretch of the season.

And for Duke, this certainly isn't a disastrous loss — it's moreso just an annoying one, as Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils had a clear path to the No. 1 ranking in the country on Monday after Auburn's loss, but couldn't close the door on Clemson.

With this win, the Tigers pull to within one game of Duke in ACC standings — but the Blue Devils still control their own destiny in the conference and don't have a horribly difficult schedule the rest of the way.

Duke's projected AP Top 25 ranking

Alabama is about to wrap up a win against Arkansas and Tennessee crushed Oklahoma earlier today, so I project that Duke will fall to No. 4 in the next AP Top 25, which will come out on Monday.

This Duke team has the firepower to make a deep tournament run, and their first conference loss coming on February 8th is a clear sign of that. I see a small drop in the rankings coming, but with a chance to win out, it's far from deterimental to Jon Scheyer and Duke's season.