Through its first 10 games of the 2025-26 college basketball season, the Duke Blue Devils have firmly established themselves as one of the best teams in the entire sport and are a clear national championship contender. With a 10-0 record, Duke is currently ranked No. 2 in the NET rankings and No. 3 in the AP Poll while owning four wins over ranked opponents, only one of which came at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils have one of the most talented rosters in the nation, highlighted by National Player of the Year frontrunner Cameron Boozer, are potentially the best defensive team in the nation, and have one of the best head coaches in the sport in Jon Scheyer. But what if none of that even mattered?
Well, obviously it does. But those aren't the reasons why Duke basketball is an unquestionable national title contender. Crazy things happen, like No. 1 seeds being upset by No. 16 seeds. However, history says that the Blue Devils, along with 11 other programs, are the only true national title contenders this season.
History shows that Duke basketball is one 12 teams that can actually win national championsip this season
Historical data tells us that there's a small group of programs that can actually cut down the nets in early April. It's always a small group, but here's how it's already been determined who the contenders are.
Since 2004, every national champion has been ranked in the top 12 of the Week 6 AP Poll. Duke is right there.
Week 6 AP Poll Top 12:
1. Arizona
2. Michigan
3. Duke
4. Iowa State
5. UConn
6. Purdue
7. Houston
8. Gonzaga
9. Michigan State
10. BYU
11. Louisville
12. Alabama
There you have it. One of these schools will be cutting down the nets in April 2026. Ironically, the AP Poll is meaningless in terms of determining the NCAA Tournament field, but the data actually makes a lot of sense. At this point, most elite squads have played grueling non-conference games or competed in MTEs. Ranking this high at this point in the season means each of these programs has won marquee games, or at least competed against the top programs the sport has to offer.
Duke may have the best resume in the country after taking down Michigan State on the road this past Saturday, but Duke fans can rest easy knowing that the Blue Devils are one of the teams that can win it all this season.