Preseason AP Top 25 released: Where did Duke basketball land?

The Duke basketball program is heading into the 2025-26 campaign with hopes to get to a second straight Final Four, and with the No. 1 recruiting class mixed with a slew of key returners, Jon Scheyer and his club are poised for another deep March run. The Preseason Associated Press Top 25 has been released, and Duke came in at No. 6. The Blue Devils are one of the top favorites per the betting markets to cut down the nets in early April, and the AP voters have now revealed that they view Duke as a perennial national title contender.

Duke comes in at No. 6 in Preseason Associated Press Top 25

The Blue Devils are the highest-ranked squad out of the ACC, coming in at No. 6. Interestingly, Louisville didn't crack the top ten despite much debate between the Cardinals and Duke as to which is the best ACC team heading into the season. Louisville came in at No. 11, and the lone other ACC squad ranked is UNC at No. 25.

The Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC lead the way with six ranked teams in the top 25, respectively. The Big East and ACC follow behind with three each.

The release of the Preseason AP Poll sheds light on just how difficult Duke's gauntlet of a non-conference schedule is. The Blue Devils will go through what is likely the toughest non-con slate in the entire country, facing six squads ranked in the poll, with two matchups against opponents ranked in the top ten. Duke will be headlining several marquee matchups through the 2025-26 college basketball season, and with this schedule, it has a great chance to get to No. 1 in the nation if it can stack wins.

Duke will also face Louisville and North Carolina twice this season, which are also both ranked.

There are question marks surrounding the Duke program heading into the season, with how young and inexperienced the team is, but voters see no issue in it, as Duke will enter the season once again as one of the top teams the nation has to offer.