The Duke Blue Devils (21-3, 13-1 ACC) have long been considered one of the best teams in college basketball this season, with one of the best chances to cut down the nets in this year's NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils have won 17 of their last 18 games, have no losses outside of Quadrant 1, and are the only team in college basketball rated in the top five in adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom.
Former Duke basketball star and current ESPN analyst Jay Bilas went on ESPN's Get Up Thursday morning to give his thoughts on the top teams in the nation at this point in time.
He answered with little hesitation that the top two teams in college basketball were Duke and Auburn.
"I think it's Duke and Auburn and we'll start with Duke," Bilas said. "They're young. Their best players are their youngest players, but they are big, they're super athletic, and they're excellent defensively. One of the things that's impressed me most, especially with a young team, is how well their help side is positioned on defense and how well they talk, and when you've got Cooper Flagg that's leading the way, you're legit."
Flagg has been one of the most dominant players in college basketball as a freshman averaging 19.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on 48.3% shooting from the field. He also leads Duke in all five major statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).
Outside of Flagg, the Blue Devils possess an elite mix of length and athleticism on the defensive end with even its two bigs, Khaman Maluach and Maliq Brown, able to guard the one through five.
Mix that in with elite shooting ability with guys like Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel, and experienced vets like Mason Gillis and Sion James, the Blue Devils have some of the best pure balance in the country.
The Blue Devils are currently ranked #3 in the Associated Press Poll, but Auburn is #1 and has been there for five weeks.
"Auburn has been the most consistent at the highest level all season long," Bilas said about the Tigers. "They've played arguably the toughest schedule in college basketball. Seems like every game they've played is a Quad 1 game, and they've performed really well against it. Their guards are excellent. They shoot it and knock their free throws down, which is going to be really important in late-game situations, especially as we get into the NCAA Tournament.
Auburn is 13-2 against Quad 1 opponents and 9-0 against the other three quadrants. Thirteen Quad 1 wins is ridiculous, but it comes from the Tigers playing in an SEC that might be the best single-season conference in the history of college basketball. Five of Auburn's seven remaining games are Q1 games.
Overall, Auburn is 22-2 and 10-1 in SEC play. The program's only non-conference loss actually came against the Blue Devils when Duke beat the Tigers at Cameron Indoor 84-78 on December 5th.
Both squads are projected 1-seeds in the NCAA Tournament per Joe Lunardi's Bracketology.