Duke basketball has tie broken with UNC for No. 1 AP Poll ranking

The Duke basketball program knows where it sits in the preseason rankings. 

North Carolina has another reason to gloat over the Duke basketball program as the Tar Heels were voted as the No. 1 team in the Preseason Associated Press Top-25 Poll on Monday afternoon.

It was the tenth time the Tar Heels were named as the preseason best team in the nation, breaking its tie with Duke for most all time.

Hubert Davis’ team made an impressive run to the Final Four, including a victory over Duke in the National Semifinal, in his first season at the head of the Carolina program but ultimately blew the biggest halftime lead in the history of the National Championship to Kansas.

The team from Chapel Hill returns four starters from last season, including potential Preseason National Player of the Year Armando Bacot.

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The Blue Devils were pegged No. 7 entering the first season under head coach Jon Scheyer.

Gonzaga, Houston, and Kentucky round out the Top-4 of the poll while Kansas and Baylor are tied for fifth.

Duke’s ranking signifies that the Blue Devils have been ranked inside the Top-10 of the Associated Press Poll for at least one week for 27 consecutive seasons, the longest streak in the country.

Kansas, the program trailing the Blue Devils, has been a Top-10 team for at least a week for 17 straight years.

Duke basketball still unsure of opening night roster

Duke is still awaiting the official on-court return of freshman wing Dariq Whitehead who underwent surgery on a broken foot within the first two days of official practice.

The program has stated that the Montverde Academy (Fla.) product is expected back on the floor this fall but has yet to provide a more precise timeline.

The Blue Devils will rely on junior point guard Jeremy Roach to lead the squad into the season alongside the other talented freshmen on the roster in Dereck Lively II, Kyle Filipowski, and Mark Mitchell.

Duke begins its season on November 7 against Jacksonville.