The Duke basketball program has firmly established itself as a true national championship contender after beginning the 2025-26 college basketball season with a 10-0 record that includes four wins over ranked opponents. However, after No. 1 Arizona's recent decisive victory over No. 12 Alabama, the Blue Devils' accomplishments seem to have been cast to the side. After Duke took down No. 9 Michigan State in East Lansing, it felt like the Blue Devils owned the best resume in the sport. However, the Wildcats seem to have taken that honor right back after they demolished the Crimson Tide.
Arizona has now defeated five ranked teams through its first nine games, becoming the first program in the history of college basketball to do so. It won these five games by an average margin of 12.8 points, proving it is deserving of the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll.
Arizona takes best non-conference resume title from Duke basketball after dominant win over No. 12 Alabama
Arizona took down Alabama 96-75 over the weekend. What makes the Wildcats' victory over the Crimson Tide scary is that Koa Peat, Tommy Lloyd's 5-star freshman who's been one of the most dominant rookies in college basketball, went for just six points and a rebound in 20 minutes. Peat had tallied at least 16 points in three of Arizona's four other ranked matchups, and the Wildcats were still able to drop 96 points when he was essentially a non-factor offensively.
Duke non-conference resume:
NET ranking: 2
4-0 in Quadrant 1, 1-0 in Quadrant 2
78-66 win over No. 19 Kansas (neutral)
80-71 win over No. 17 Arkansas (neutral)
67-66 win over No. 18 Florida (home)
66-60 win over No. 9 Michigan State (road)
Arizona non-conference resume:
NET ranking: 4
4-0 in Quadrant 1, 1-0 in Quadrant 2
93-87 win over No. 18 Florida (neutral)
71-67 win over No. 5 UConn (road)
69-65 win over No. 25 UCLA (neutral)
97-68 win over No. 21 Auburn (home)
96-75 win over No. 12 Alabama (neutral)
Interestingly, Arizona's win over Auburn now counts as a Q2 victory, but the Wildcats must take the title of having the best resume in college basketball. The dominance of some of these wins is frightening for the rest of the nation, as the Wildcats appear to be arguably the most complete team the sport has to offer.
Both Duke and Arizona sit on the 1-seed line in terms of NCAA Tournament seeding, and both already own signature victories. Only six programs own four Q1 wins at this point in the season, and the Blue Devils and Wildcats are two of them.