The Duke basketball team is ranked No. 4 in an arbitrary Associated Press Top-25 Poll but the Blue Devils are now the No. 1 team in the KenPom Ratings, which are based off of results and analytics.
Jon Scheyer’s team jumped Auburn after its 76-47 victory over Pittsburgh on Tuesday night despite the Tigers winning 87-82 on the road against Texas on the same evening.
Duke has been hovering inside of the KenPom Top-5 for a majority of the season as it possesses the No. 8 offense in the country, according to the rating, and the No. 1 defense in the country.
It’s the first time in nearly two months that the Tigers have been supplanted as the top KenPom team but the margin between the two programs are so razor thin, they are nearly inseparable.
The Blue Devils have won nine straight games, including an 84-78 victory over No. 2 Auburn inside Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 3. Five of its victories have come against ACC competition and each game has been decided by 11 or more points.
Auburn (14-1, 2-0 SEC), ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, has not lost since its defeat to Duke, winning seven straight games after its impressive run to the Maui Invitational Championship during the week of Thanksgiving.
There are only three teams that have finished with higher adjusted efficiency margins in the history of the KenPom Ratings than what Duke and Auburn currently have – the 1991 and 2001 Duke teams as well as the 2015 Kentucky Wildcats.
Granted, only one of those teams won the National Championship, the 2001 Blue Devils.
Both teams are heavy favorites to win their respective conference championships and receive No. 1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament as a rematch could loom in a National Championship matchup.
Duke (13-2, 5-0 ACC) will return to the court on Saturday afternoon (12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN), hosting Notre Dame (7-8, 1-3 ACC).