Duke rises in Associated Press Top 25 Poll after two straight road wins
The Duke Basketball team rose in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll this week after two straight road victories, one over a ranked opponent.
One way to respond to one of the worst regular season losses in program history is to pull off one of the best regular season weeks in recent memory.
After losing at home to Stephen F. Austin, which saw the Duke Blue Devils drop from No. 1 to No. 10 in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll, the Blue Devils pulled off two big-time wins on the road.
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Duke traveled to No. 11 Michigan State to face the Spartans and rolled up and down the court in East Lansing, easily thrashing Michigan State, winning 87-75 on Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils then had to make the quick turnaround, playing its first ACC game of the season, and doing so on the road against the Virginia Tech Hokies.
A sluggish start put Duke in a hole, but the Blue Devils used a strong second half to win 77-63 on Friday night.
The victories saw Duke jump from No. 10 to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 Poll as the team heads into a long break as the players prepare for final exams.
Louisville and Kansas did not move from their respective No. 1 and No. 2 rankings, but the Ohio State Buckeyes slid up three spots to No. 3.
The Maryland Terrapins and Michigan Wolverines round out the top five this week while the Gonzaga Bulldogs are the only other team ranked ahead of Duke at No. 6.
Kentucky, Virginia, and Oregon round out the top 10 of the poll this week.
No. 7 Duke and No. 9 Virginia are joined by No. 17 North Carolina and No. 21 Florida State as the only teams from the ACC that were ranked this week and no other ACC school received votes to be included in the Top 25.
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Duke will have this week off as the next time the Blue Devils take the floor will be on December 19 against the Wofford Terriers in Cameron Indoor Stadium.